CSIRO – Forests are key carbon soaks
This is exciting! As one forest campaigner said – formally recognising the carbon potential of forests is a “game changer”.
What we have been saying for years has finally been shown to be right by the CSIRO. The world’s intact forests absorb about 1/3rd of our carbon emissions every year. This makes forests the most effective and immediate carbon storage solution we have.
The research which was published in the journal, Science recently, and made big news, backs up our demands to protect forests and justifies that some of the carbon tax plan’s $1 billion biodiversity fund, be used to stop logging in state forests.
CSIRO scientist and co-author of the paper, Pep Canadell, said research proved forests should become a priority in any climate protection strategy. He said the capacity of forests to make a difference for climate protection is much bigger than ever thought.
Despite the logging industry claiming that clearfelling is carbon neutral they are still attempting to claim that making chairs and tables from a forest is the real way to ‘lock up’ its carbon. They are going to have a very hard time continuing with this lie now.
The research has been undertaken as part of the Australian Climate Change Science Program, funded jointly by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO.
According to the Australian Forest and Climate Alliance, state forest logging in Tasmania, Victoria and NSW contributes an estimated 10% of Australia’s total emissions. Add land clearing into that and it’s closer to 20%