The federal government has announced a significant project to test the ability of biochar to sequester carbon and improve soil health. $1.4 million will be invested in the project under the government’s Climate Change Research Program. This is the second major investment in climate change projects announced after the Greens won the lower house seat of Fremantle. Environmentalists, farmers and scientists have been calling for more research into the role of agriculture in sequestering carbon and the value of biochar in that process. Professor Tim Flannery recently joined the board of New Zealand company Carbonscape which plans to microwave agricultural waste and plantation forests.