• Iberdrola begins its first Australian carbon removal project across 688 hectares on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.
• Project Talia is expected to generate ACCUs under the national scheme, offering verified carbon removal options to Australian customers.
• The initiative embeds biodiversity restoration and cultural outcomes through partnerships with Traditional Owners and ecological organisations.

Iberdrola has expanded its global nature-based strategy into Australia with the launch of Carbon2Nature Australia and the introduction of its first domestic carbon removal project at Talia Station. The company described the initiative as a decisive shift toward large-scale restoration work in a region that has experienced extensive ecosystem decline.

The 688-hectare project focuses on restoring native Drooping Sheoak grassy woodland, a critically endangered ecosystem on the Eyre Peninsula. Iberdrola said the work is designed to produce measurable biodiversity gains while advancing cultural outcomes through direct collaboration with the Wirangu and Nauo First Peoples.

“Iberdrola Australia is proud to announce its strategic entry into nature-based solutions and carbon removal through Carbon2Nature Australia,” the company stated. “This landmark initiative is a significant step forward in our commitment to sustainability and innovation in Australia.”

Governance and Project Structure

Carbon2Nature Australia operates as the local arm of Carbon2Nature, Iberdrola Group’s nature-based solutions entity that already runs projects in Spain, Mexico and Brazil. It functions as a joint venture with Iberdrola Australia, aligning the group’s biodiversity and decarbonisation strategy with Australia’s regulatory frameworks and land management priorities.

The structure places ecosystem restoration within the parameters of the Clean Energy Regulator’s national ACCU scheme. Project Talia is expected to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units, providing a regulated pathway for carbon removal and a transparent mechanism for market participation.

Iberdrola said the ACCU linkage is central to credibility and long-term buy-in from customers. “Through this initiative, Iberdrola Australia will give customers access to ACCUs with verified environmental integrity under the Clean Energy Regulator’s scheme, ensuring transparency and measurable impact.”

Partnerships Driving Ecological and Cultural Restoration

The company developed the project with Land Life and Cassinia Environmental, both recognised for large-scale ecological restoration work and carbon project development. Their combined expertise covers seed sourcing, ecological planning, carbon methodology and long-term land stewardship.

The project’s design extends beyond carbon accounting. Cultural outcomes form a formal part of the initiative and are being shaped with the Wirangu and Nauo Aboriginal Corporation. Iberdrola said the approach is centred on “deepening community-led restoration and Traditional Owner engagement”, including knowledge-sharing on cultural burning practices and approaches to ecological resilience rooted in Indigenous land care.

The company noted that the restoration effort “supports cultural reconnection for the Wirangu and Nauo First Peoples”. This includes activity on country, training opportunities and practices that integrate ecological science with Indigenous ecological knowledge systems.

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Biodiversity and Long-Term Ecological Value

The restoration plan focuses on re-establishing Drooping Sheoak (Allocasuarina verticillata) woodland, a species foundational to the peninsula’s grassland ecosystems. The forest type once supported a wide range of fauna and now forms part of a national priority for recovery. Restoration is expected to reduce erosion risk, support habitat creation and improve ecosystem connectivity across degraded landscapes in the region.

The project aims to create “long-term ecological resilience”, with plantings and land management designed to endure climatic stress over time. Iberdrola said the program is aligned with its wider biodiversity commitments, including protecting natural capital within its global decarbonisation strategy.

What Executives and Investors Should Watch

The project arrives as Australian corporates and global investors face increasing scrutiny over carbon integrity and the credibility of removal claims. The decision to tie restoration directly to the ACCU framework places Iberdrola’s effort within one of the world’s most established compliance-grade carbon systems, a point that will matter for investors that require high-integrity offsets linked to regulated markets.

The expansion of Carbon2Nature into Australia also reflects a wider governance trend: utilities and energy companies are beginning to integrate nature restoration directly into their transition planning, rather than treating it as an external offset mechanism. As biodiversity disclosure requirements accelerate globally, these models may become more common.

By combining ecological restoration, community partnerships and verified carbon units, Iberdrola is creating a template that other utilities may study as they navigate the intersection of land, climate and regulation.

In the final analysis, the Talia Station project positions Australia within Iberdrola’s global nature strategy while adding supply to a carbon market increasingly shaped by integrity standards. Its success will influence how international capital views nature-based solutions in jurisdictions with strong regulatory frameworks and culturally important landscapes.

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