Ending native forest logging is a trump card
The recent article by Bob Debus is a most useful summary of the value of our remaining native forests, and his call to stop logging them must be heeded (“A good start to urgent climate change abatement: end native forest logging now”, Sep 7).
According to the 2017 WWF fact sheet, Tree Felling in Australia, “of the 1,250 plant and 390 terrestrial animal species listed as threatened, 964 plants and 286 animals have deforestation and resulting habitat fragmentation or degradation listed as threats.” Since then, climate change and the 2019/20 bushfires have made the situation even more serious.
But Debus reveals another compelling reason to stop native forest logging in this country. Emissions reduction. That is, “the avoided emissions alone would be close to what is needed annually (15.5 Mt CO2) to achieve our national target of 43 per cent reduction on 2005 levels of emission by 2030.”
Why is this startling scientific finding not shouted from the rooftops?
Phasing out native forest logging would allow some breathing space for the community consultations that are sorely needed to gain a social licence for new transmission and renewables. Does Chris Bowen realise the winning card Tanya Plibersek holds?
Fact sheet: https://assets.wwf.org.au/image/upload/f_pdf/pub-fact-sheet-tree-clearing-in-australia-23may17_1?_a=ATO2Ba20
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