Qantas on Monday announced that it has partnered with mining majors Rio Tino and BHP to invest AU$80 million ($52.7 million) in an Australian carbon credits fund that focuses on land reforestation projects, the company said in a statement.
The fund, managed by Silva Capital — a joint venture between Roc Partners and C6 Investment Management — aims to raise AU$250 million to generate and manage Australian Carbon Credit Units from reforestation initiatives.
According to the press release, Qantas’ investment in the Silva Carbon Origination Fund will help to meet its compliance obligations and progress its climate targets with verifiably high-quality carbon credits.
The release further said high-integrity carbon offsets would play an ongoing and critical role in difficult-to-abate industries such as aviation.
“For hard-to-abate sectors, such as aviation, high-integrity carbon offsets will play an important role in achieving climate targets,” said Qantas Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Parker in the statement.
He added: “We expect the demand for carbon offsets to continue to grow into the future and it’s going to take partnerships across industries to enhance the overall availability of high-quality, high-integrity carbon credits.”
The national airline said it is financing its commitment through its AU$400 million Climate Fund, which it established in 2023 to help meet its compliance obligations and advance its climate goals with verified, high-quality carbon credits.
These credits will be generated through land reforestation projects that reduce emissions and create social and economic benefits for local communities.
“The Silva Carbon Origination fund will enable us to continue to elevate our carbon market strategy while also helping to positively shape the development of the overall industry,” said Parker.
According to Silva Capital, the projects are designed to complement and enhance farming activity, improve soil health and biodiversity through environmental planting, and lead to carbon sequestration, food security and land productivity.
“Sustainable agriculture is at the forefront of our investment strategy. With the Silva Carbon Origination Fund, we aim to create a portfolio of mixed farming land with significant canopy cover, generating a large volume of high-integrity carbon credits,” said Silva Capital Co-Managing Director Brad Mytton.
Mytton added: “The Fund has been designed to appeal to both corporate investors seeking to access carbon credits and institutional investors seeking portfolio diversification, ensuring that we can maximize the volume of capital invested into the sector, capital which is needed to enable Australia to meet its decarbonization targets.”
