Carbon
Whether you are established in the carbon market, developing your offset procurement approach, or starting to explore project or investment opportunities, McCullough Robertson’s carbon team offers strategic legal and commercial advice based on unparalleled industry experience.
We advise government authorities, project developers and landowners on:
- carbon project acquisition and development and all associated due diligence;
- FIRB requirements in relation to the establishment of carbon projects;
- commercial arrangements, including offtake agreements, funding agreements and carbon marketing agreements;
- ESG specific disclosures and reporting;
- regulatory requirements for participating in the Australian carbon market, including in relation to AFSL;
- project approvals and compliance, including Eligible Interest Holder (EIH) consent negotiations and Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC);
- Safeguard Mechanism rules and reforms;
- National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) requirements;
- the development and implementation of your organisation’s decarbonisation, sustainability or ESG strategy;
- taxation, including stamp duty; and
- land lease tenure arrangements, development agreements and facilitation agreements.
We bring a multidisciplinary skillset to address your carbon needs, with teams advising across various practice areas to provide comprehensive and tailored strategies.
McCullough Robertson has been actively involved in this sector over the last decade, starting with our investment in Natural Carbon in 2014. Since then, we have been proactively involved in the industry, and have helped to shape the best practice legal and commercial approach.
With experience working with government authorities, including the Clean Energy Regulator, service providers and landowners, we offer our clients unmatched value through our national network, acting as a conduit between corporates and reputable service providers to strengthen your investment strategies and opportunities to trade in the carbon market.
This includes regularly travelling to the regions to gain deeper insights into the day-to-day operations of our clients. We value being where our clients are and believe this to be the only way to gain true understanding of the evolving industry.
Together with McR ESG, a McCullough Robertson diversified business, we have grown to offer commercial advice to assist with forming and implementing your organisation’s ESG strategies. Unlike other legal advisers, we can support participants beyond legal compliance to ensure that your decision making not only aligns with any corporate commitments and stakeholder expectations, but also considers key international market developments and headwinds.
A dynamic industry driven by emerging technology, significant social interest and a rapidly evolving regulatory environment, carbon projects and the resulting use of offsets are now more multifaceted and complex than ever. We understand the complexities of carbon offset investments and trading, and we support and advise our clients with their commercial interests in mind.
Our lawyers make it a priority to critically understand the sector’s challenges and nuances and remain ahead of the game. It is the combination of our broad experience, our commitment to research, and our connections in the industry, including private and public companies and government entities, that sets us apart and establishes us as educators.
To find out more, contact Dominic McGann, Kate Swain or Louise Horrocks.