Forestry to lead emissions reductions

Martin Moroni, Senior Research Scientist; Forest Carbon

Forestry Tasmania’s trees on farms project is on the right track to help reduce carbon levels a new report shows.

There are two ways to reduce atmospheric concentrations of CO2, either by reducing emissions or by absorbing atmospheric CO2 and storing it. Trees and wood products have the unique ability to do both.

The Low Carbon Growth Plan for Australia report released last month describes how forests can increase landscape carbon storage and indicates the benefit of using forest fibre for fuel, preventing emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. In addition, carbon can be stored in wood products and can replace the use of more greenhouse gas intensive material such as metals and concrete preventing emissions from fossil fuel burning.

According to the report planting trees on degraded land will significantly reduce and offset Australia’s emissions. The report describes reforestation as one of the biggest opportunities for Australia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly when marginal land is reforested. Reforestation includes planting trees as windbreaks, along waterways and in patches for livestock shade.

The report indicates the forestry sector has the potential be one of the largest and most cost effective sectors for greenhouse gas reduction activities in Australia over the next decade. The forest sector represents a large portion (28 per cent) of the lowest cost emissions reduction options available into the future, which were estimated to potentially reduce emissions by 70 Mt CO2e in 2020, where 70 per cent of the emission reduction was estimated to come from reforestation.

The report indicates that only the power sector has the potential to make a bigger reduction, however the cost for each tonne would be more than two to three times greater than that for forestry.

A full copy of the report is available at www.climateworksaustralia.org

For more information about Trees on Farms, click here.