New report confirms working forests better for the climate than lock-ups

The North Coast Forests Taskforce has welcomed the release of a new landmark report into the carbon storage and greenhouse gas reduction benefits from working native forests in south-eastern Australia.

The Australian Forest Products Association's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ross Hampton, said “This new report, undertaken by leading carbon science experts including from the CSIRO and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, reveals that the carbon benefits from the working forest scenarios were either comparable or, in most cases, greater than simply locking these areas up”.

“In short, if we want to do something positive on the back of the Paris talks to address climate change, we must back our forestry, wood and paper products industry.”

“The aim of the study was to track the fate of carbon stored in representative native forests in New South Wales and Victoria managed for sustainable timber production (working forests) compared to conservation only.”

“The study found that the carbon abatement from working forest scenarios generated the greatest positive economic outcomes and the largest amount of carbon abatement. These benefits were generated from the carbon stored in the working forests and harvested wood products, their substitution for other materials such as steel and concrete, and the use of biomass waste for renewable energy”.

These latest findings are entirely consistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which says:

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.

The new report, commissioned by Forest and Wood Products Australia, can be found at:
Working Forests