Media Release: Savanna fire management goes global as fourth major framework backs approach
Carbon removal registry Isometric has released a draft Savanna Fire Management (SFM) Protocol for public consultation, becoming the fourth major carbon crediting framework in under twelve months to advance a methodology taking Australia’s pioneering approach to savanna fire management to the world.
Sydney-based climate technology company Maki Planet Systems has played a direct role in all three international developments, authoring the world-first global SFM methodology now progressing through the United Nations’ Article 6.4 mechanism, co-proposing the methodology under development by Verra, and commissioning and funding the development of Isometric’s new draft protocol. Public consultation on the Isometric draft SFM protocol is open until 31 August 2026.
The developments mark growing international momentum behind an approach pioneered in Australia and built on tens of thousands of years of First Nations fire knowledge.
Savanna fire management shifts burning from the late to the early dry season through planned, cooler burns, reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions from intense late-season wildfires and allowing trees and woody shrubs to store more carbon. Tropical savanna fires release around 750 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere every year.
In Australia, more than a decade of SFM crediting has demonstrated the approach at landscape scale, helping turn northern Australia’s savannas from an emitter of around 19 million tonnes of CO₂e a year into a net sink of 3.5 million tonnes a year.
Maki Planet Systems CEO, Julien Gastaldi, said the rapid progress of savanna fire management across major carbon frameworks showed the approach was moving firmly onto the global stage, “Savanna fire management was pioneered in Australia. Now the world is taking notice,
“Four major carbon frameworks have advanced savanna fire management in less than a year. That is a significant shift for an approach grounded in thousands of years of First Nations fire knowledge and proven over decades in northern Australia.
“Maki, as a partner of the indigenous-led International Savanna Fire Management Initiative has been driving that international momentum. We authored the methodology progressing through the UN, co-proposed the methodology under development by Verra, and commissioned and funded the development of Isometric’s new protocol.
“The opportunity is enormous. Tropical savanna fires release around 750 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent every year. Taking proven fire management approaches into appropriate landscapes globally has the potential to deliver significant climate, environmental and community benefits.
“But going global cannot mean simply exporting an Australian technical model.
“The success of savanna fire management in Australia comes from bringing Indigenous knowledge, rigorous science and local experience together. As the approach expands internationally, those principles need to travel with it.” said Gastaldi.
Driving SFM onto the global stage
Maki authored the global SFM methodology currently under assessment by the United Nations under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement. The methodology was opened for public consultation by the UNFCCC Supervisory Body in November 2025 and has since progressed to detailed technical assessment.
Maki also jointly proposed the SFM methodology under development by Verra with the International Savanna Fire Management Initiative. The draft completed public consultation in March 2026 and is now undergoing independent expert review.
Most recently, Maki commissioned and funded the development of Isometric’s draft SFM Protocol, which opened for public consultation this month. The protocol draws on methodologies and experience developed in Australia and internationally and extends eligibility to the miombo woodlands of southern Africa alongside northern Australia.
At home, Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator activated its new 2026 savanna fire management methods under the ACCU Scheme in April said Gastaldi, “This is about creating the frameworks that allow communities to manage fire differently, reduce emissions and build healthier, more resilient landscapes,
“Isometric’s consultation is another important step towards making that possible at global scale.” concluded Gastaldi.
Maki Planet Systems is encouraging land managers, researchers, Indigenous fire practitioners and the integrated fire management community to contribute to the Isometric consultation before it closes on 31 August 2026.
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Media Enquiries: Claire Maloney | +61 (0) 431 279 785 | claire@thebraveryishere.com