Research puts Australia in leading position
From the Winter 2008 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
Not only do growing trees store carbon. NSW DPI researchers have found resulting wood products store a high proportion of carbon for at least a century. Photo Forests NSW Image Library
NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) researchers have shown that Australia is in a leading position to have carbon in forest products included in emissions trading schemes.
No-one else in the world has achieved this to date, according to NSW DPI researcher, Fabiano Ximenes.
At the recent ‘ABARE Outlook’ conference in Canberra, a presentation by NSW DPI’s researchers highlighted Australia’s ability to develop practical mechanisms for the inclusion of forest products in emission trading schemes.
Research conducted by Fabiano and fellow researchers during the past seven years shows that a high proportion of the carbon in solid forest products consumed in Australia remained stored in the product (in service and in landfills) for a period of at least 100 years.
“The results from the research on decay of forest products in landfill, which has gained international attention, show that solid forest products in landfills decay to a much lesser extent than previously thought,” Fabiano said.
“Adoption of the results of this research will contribute to the reduction of the estimates of Australia’s greenhouse emissions, as forest products are a significant component of the waste stream.
“If forest products were included in carbon trading, this would increase the value of forest products, as the amount of carbon available for sale would increase.”
The ABARE report summary is available on www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
Sarah Chester - Public Affairs & Media, Albury
