YPF AMMONIA PLANT

YPF AMMONIA PLANT is a fertiliser manufacturing facility operated by Yara Pilbara Fertilisers Pty Ltd in WA. Like all covered facilities, ammonia and fertiliser production is energy and emissions-intensive. Under Australia's Safeguard Mechanism, YPF AMMONIA PLANT must keep its annual emissions below a stepping-down baseline — or purchase carbon credits to cover any overage.

In 2023–24, YPF AMMONIA PLANT reported emissions of 1.37 Mt against a baseline obligation of 1.36 Mt — an overage of 10 kt. The facility covered the 10 kt overage by purchasing 9,629 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) — credits generated by carbon abatement projects elsewhere in Australia such as soil carbon farming, avoided land clearing, and landfill gas capture.

Purchasing credits is legal and intended by the Safeguard Mechanism's design — the policy deliberately allows facilities to choose between cutting on-site emissions or funding abatement elsewhere in the economy. Whether credit purchases represent genuine long-term decarbonisation depends on whether the facility's absolute emissions are trending down over time. The chart above shows the trajectory since reporting began. This question applies to all covered facilities under the Safeguard Mechanism, not YPF AMMONIA PLANT specifically.

Across the fertiliser manufacturing sector, 2 of 4 covered facilities reported emissions above their baseline in 2023–24. The table below compares YPF AMMONIA PLANT with other fertiliser manufacturing facilities covered by the Safeguard Mechanism.