A farming investment platform backed by the federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation has emerged as the buyer of 6000ha of the former Watermark coal mine site near Gunnedah in north-eastern NSW.
Smaller portions of the property were acquired by almost a dozen local farmers, many of whom had campaigned against the controversial coal mine that was due to operate in one of Australia’s major food bowl regions, the Liverpool Plains. The CEFC, which has invested $10.3 billion to date in environmentally friendly projects as Australia’s “Green Bank”, tipped $50 million into the farming platform alongside the same amount from the Kempen SDG Farmland Fund, a global agricultural impact fund.
“We will also work with livestock leasing partners who operate their own livestock on the grazing areas [of the property],” Mr Wheaton said.Gunn Agri will also sequester carbon through soil and vegetation planted on the property to reduce its carbon footprint. About 5.5 per cent of the property will be contributed to an adjacent koala habitat conservation program managed by the NSW state government.
Germany did the same when they shut down coal mines n coal power