A habitat restoration initiative targeting Australia’s endangered koala has achieved a price well above prevailing carbon market benchmarks, underlining growing demand for biodiversity-linked credits.
Australian developer Canopy, part of Greening Australia, completed the sale of 200 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) at AUD70.40 (around $50) per tonne of CO2 equivalent. The transaction was carried out with a voluntary corporate buyer and marks the first reported trade from the project.
The credits were issued under the Environmental Plantings (EP) methodology through Greening Australia and Canopy Nature-Based Solutions: National Reforestation Program 2022. The project focuses on re-establishing native tree species on land previously dominated by agricultural use. According to data from the Clean Energy Regulator, 3,547 ACCUs have been issued to date.
Often referred to in the market as ‘Koala friendly’ ACCUs, the units are tied to the restoration of habitat and ecological corridors for the koala, which is listed as endangered in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
The achieved price of AUD70.40/tCO2e stands notably above broader market references. Spot EP ACCUs—typically associated with monoculture plantings—are commonly valued at approximately AUD56/tCO2e (around $40), while generic ACCUs have recently been assessed closer to AUD36.90/tCO2e (around $26). Multi-species EP projects with clear biodiversity co-benefits have historically attracted stronger pricing, frequently trading in the high AUD60s.
Market observers are also monitoring developments under the Koala Friendly Carbon Initiative (KFCI), a partnership involving Climate Friendly, World Wide Fund-Australia and the New South Wales government. At least five EP projects within this framework have collectively received 10,321 ACCUs, though no transactions have yet been publicly disclosed.
For investors and developers, the deal offers an important signal: biodiversity attributes are increasingly shaping price formation in Australia’s afforestation market. As capital continues to flow into environmental plantings, projects demonstrating tangible habitat restoration and species protection outcomes may secure a competitive advantage.