The contract involves Origin paying Carbon Conscious to plant millions of native Mallee Eucalypt trees on less viable agricultural land in the wheatbelt regions of Australia for the production of Carbon Permits tradable under the Commonwealth Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS).  

Origin has engaged Carbon Conscious to establish environmental carbon offset plantings over the first 3 seasons (2009, 2010 and 2011). These plantings will have a face value of approximately $26 million and comprise both upfront planting and ongoing licence and management fees payable over the 15-year term of the arrangement. In addition, Carbon Conscious will provide options for Origin to take up further environmental plantings between 2010 and 2014. The face value of these additional plantings is up to $143 million and would be paid in a combination of upfront planting and ongoing licence and management fees. If the options are exercised by Origin in full, the deal would represent what the parties believe will be the largest carbon forest sink development program in Australia to date with a value of up to $169 million to be paid over the 15-year life of the project.
 

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