This is a short guide for Northern Indigenous Australians on the impacts of and responses to climate change, particularly market and financial mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (often referred to as the ‘carbon market’, ‘emissions trading’ and/or ‘carbon financing’). The guide is intended as a first edition: comments, case studies and more information would be most welcome – please contact ingrid@iisd.org, johnston@ias.unu.edu or jessica.lewfatt@cdu.edu.au. Section 1 explains what climate change is and outlines the international response to this problem. Section 2 describes the carbon market and the different activities that may generate ‘emissions reduction credits’ or ‘offsets’. It lists some points to think about when undertaking emissions reduction or offsetting activities. It also outlines the current situation with regard to the carbon market in Australia and opportunities for accessing carbon financing, before discussing the possible impacts of emissions reduction activities on Indigenous people. Section 3 looks at the role of Australian Indigenous fire management practices in greenhouse gas abatement. Section 4 provides short case studies of Indigenous engagement with greenhouse gas emissions reduction activities, both within Australia and beyond.

The Guide details numerous case studies. Here is one principle example of Indigenous Fire Abatement

West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement Project,Northern Territory

Development of the West Arnhem Fire Management project first started in 1997, with support from the federal government (Natural Heritage Trust) and local communities, in particular, the Northern Land Council and Aboriginal traditional owners and organisations from part of West Arnhem Land. With the cooperation of the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Savannas Management in Darwin and local communities, the project has involved the development of strategic fire management practices.

The project uses traditional Indigenous fire management practices together with modern scientific knowledge to better control the timing and intensity of savanna fires. This includes cross-cultural planning and assessment, long cross-country bush walks, burning programs (undertaken increasingly by traditional landowners) and fire-mapping technology (see http://www.firenorth.org.au/). The project seeks to increase the proportion of early dry season fires to create fire breaks

In light of the current international framework for addressing climate change, and so long as there is no nation-wide emissions trading scheme nor a local scheme in the Northern Territory, Queensland or Western Australia, the most likely ways for Northern Indigenous Australians to engage in the carbon market in the very near term may be:

• through private agreements for the sale of emissions reductions or offsets in the ‘unregulated’ or voluntary carbon market, or
• through broader carbon financing, natural resource and land management or sustainable community development activities.

This situation may change, however, when a nation-wide emissions trading scheme is introduced. Depending upon the design of that scheme, there may be even greater opportunities for Indigenous communities to engage in carbon offsetting activities in the future. This is not a comprehensive legal guide to engaging in carbon market activities. The particular features of any single transaction will vary depending upon technical and local factors not discussed here. The Reference List, included at the end of this guide, lists many sources of useful information. The list is divided by subject area and includes only references that are available free of charge on the internet. Additionally, a glossary and list of abbreviations is included.