Human induced regeneration (HIR) is one of a suite of carbon capture initiatives known as ‘methods’ for creating carbon credits that is overseen by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). The objective of this study is to develop a suitable methodology to assess the effectiveness of the HIR projects.

To ensure that the method meets the offsets integrity standard of additionality, its effectiveness is assessed relative to a set of counterfactual predictions. The counterfactual captures the change in woody plus forest (WF) cover that would have been expected, had a project not participated in the HIR method.

Overall, the analysis presented here provides strong evidence that projects established under the HIR method have resulted in significant increases in WF cover in the arid and semi-arid regions of NSW and Queensland.