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Liv Casben and Marion Rae

'Cut through the static' carbon conference told

The Clean Energy Regulator is set to release long-awaited data on projects that earn carbon credits. (Tracey Nearmy/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Farmers and governments "stepping on each other's toes" with competing information could risk the carbon farming market reaching its potential.

"Cut through that static," Tom Webster from Queensland's department of environment and science told regulators, project managers and farmers on the second day of a two-day carbon forum in Cairns.

Officials said federal and state government agencies are working to give landholders clear and reliable advice on carbon farming.

Representatives from Queensland, NSW and Western Australian government departments spoke at the forum, along with a representative of the federal department of the environment.

But Mr Webster warned there is a danger that landowners will opt to wait, unsure which option is right for them.

And he cautioned governments to avoid "stepping on each other's toes with their various outreach programs, tools and resources", noting the Queensland government had provided grants for a network of carbon farming advisers.

Federal Labor committed $20 million to a new carbon farming outreach program in May's budget.

The forum was told that work is underway at a federal departmental level to ensure state and territories share information on their programs and avoid duplication.

While Cathy Waters from the NSW department of primary industries said various NSW agencies were developing a single website to provide information to landowners on incentives available to them to tackle climate change.

The carbon market institute's John Connor welcomed the cooperation and said it was critical that jurisdictions work closely together.

"To ensure we use every opportunity to reduce and avoid greenhouse gas emissions, we encourage the federal government to lead work on the development of a national carbon market strategy, as recommended by the Climate Change Authority," he said.

The Clean Energy Regulator, the agency responsible for administering the carbon credit scheme, signalled long-awaited data on projects that earn carbon credits would be released next week.

Once closely protected, data on so-called carbon estimation areas used to gauge abatement and the issuance of carbon credits will be issued with extra information to better explain the calculations.

The regulator's CEO David Parker said "very, very few" projects had applied to have their data withheld.

A review of Australia's carbon credit market earlier this year urged federal regulators to release information more freely to improve public and investor confidence in the scheme.

Environmental law expert Andrew Macintosh had described most carbon credits as a "fraud on the environment", which the regulator vehemently denied.

But the independent review found the system, used by companies to offset emissions, needed some improvements.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen told the forum on Monday new governance and transparency arrangements were now in place.

He said the development of an improved savannah fire management method for earning carbon credits was a personal priority, as well as a priority for the government.

The government will also release a detailed implementation plan for all of the Chubb review recommendations in coming weeks, he said.

Separately, the recruitment process will soon start for a full-time chair for the new independent Carbon Abatement Integrity Committee.

The new $20.3 million federal program will roll out grants for landowners to obtain independent advice on carbon farming.

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