ACCC launches legal action against carbon capture company

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched legal proceedings against soil carbon group Prime Carbon due to alleged false or misleading representations made by the company.

The business, which sells a climate change focused program assisting farmers to reposition carbon from the atmosphere into land, designs specific projects for customers, assists in the management of specific amounts of carbon dioxide and assists in marketing carbon credits.

But the ACCC alleges Prime Carbon made false or misleading representations about its connections with the National Environment Registry and the National Stock Exchange.

The regulator claims Prime Carbon told customers the NER is the sole registry which meets the standards required of carbon credit registries by the Federal Governments and the NER is the where international and domestic buyers of carbon credits go, when this is not the case.

The ACCC also claims Prime Carbon made misleading representations about the NER’s relationship with the Chicago Environment Registry and portrayed itself as broker and aggregator with the NSX.

The ACCC is also alleging the company’s director, Ken Bellamy, was involved in the conduct.

The regulator will be seeking declarations, injunctions, corrective orders, trade practices, compliance orders, findings of fact and costs.

A Federal Court directions hearing has now been scheduled for February 23, 2010.