The passage of changes to the Safeguard Mechanism in the Parliament today presents an opportunity for the Albanese Government to boost the role of new timber trees in the carbon offset market to help Australia achieve Net Zero by 2050, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) Joel Fitzgibbon said today.
"Decarbonising the economy will require a mix of emissions reductions and offsets, and the planting of new timber production trees should be strongly considered on the path to net zero. Timber trees will not only absorb carbon and fight climate change as they grow, they will also produce much needed timber and wood fibre to boost Australia's domestic supply," Joel Fitzgibbon said.
AFPA-Master Builders Australia modelling predicts a major timber supply cliff next decade if we don't urgently get more timber trees in the ground. Australia will be 250,000 house-frames short of demand by 2035, cities the size of Geelong and Newcastle combined, if we don't achieve the Government's plan of one billion new trees planted by 2030.
"The implementation of the Safeguard Mechanism is a significant opportunity for emissions intensive industries to help Australia fight climate change and address our looming future timber and wood fibre supply gaps," Joel Fitzgibbon said.
"The Safeguard Mechanism is also an opportunity to better recognise the climate change benefits of timber and wood fibre stored in buildings and other products, through the development of new carbon offset methods under the Emissions Reduction Fund that will incentivise more timber and engineered wood in the built environment. I look forward to working with the Government on developing these opportunities further.
"The Safeguard Mechanism is a chance for policy makers and industry to elevate thinking on how Australia's sustainable forest industries can help drive down emissions. I firmly believe Australia cannot achieve the national targets without us," Joel Fitzgibbon concluded.
