The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has previously stated that:
“A sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.” IPCC 4th Assessment
Yesterday the IPCC released its Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Ross Hampton said Australia’s sustainable and renewable forest industries have significantly contributed to reducing C02 levels but can do a lot more, whilst also providing more timber for our houses, sustainable products to replace plastics and emissions-intensive building materials, and renewable bioenergy to replace fossil fuels.
“The Australian Government understands the importance of Australia’s forest industries and in 2018 committed to a billion more plantation trees over the next decade. This goal is a win/win to meet Australia’s demand for timber and wood-fibre as well as reducing C02 levels,” Mr Hampton said.
“Unfortunately, since that commitment only 2800 hectares of new plantations have been planted.
“Refocusing efforts to increase Australia’s forestry plantations will turbocharge Australia’s ability to sequester more carbon.
“The one billion trees goal can be achieved sooner by enabling timber plantations to fully participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), and by prioritising the development of a new ERF methodology to incentivise the use of timber and engineered wood products to replace more emissions-intensive building materials in the construction sector,” Mr Hampton concluded.