The Wilderness Society supports investment in the renewable energy industry, but not at the expense of Tasmania’s carbon-dense forests which have a much more important role to play in storing carbon and combating climate change. Recent revelations of a silica smelter for north-west Tasmania could offer a good development opportunity, however Premier Bartlett must rule out the use of native-forest timber in the processing plant.
“One aspect of community opposition to Gunns’ proposed pulp mill has been fuelled by the fact that native forests would be used in the mill. Any new proposed investment, particularly one with important links to the solar energy industry, must be untainted by links with native-forest logging,” said the Wilderness Society’s Vica Bayley.
Until more information is made available about the proposed investment in north-west Tasmania, it is impossible to support or oppose this project. In the meantime, the Wilderness Society requests a Government guarantee that any investment will not carry with it the potential for the destruction of the natural environment and the creation of community division that has characterised the pulp mill debate.
“There is speculation that wood from native-forest logging would be used to make charcoal to fuel the smelter. If this is the case, it would undermine the sustainability of the project and simply create more unnecessary community division,” said Mr Bayley.
“We have seen what happened on the south coast of NSW just a few years ago, when a proposed charcoal plant for silica production fuelled huge community opposition resulting in the eventual withdrawal of the proposal.”
There are media reports that the project would use ‘wood waste’ from the forest floor in the smelting process. However, similar to the Forestry Tasmania’s concept of burning ’wood waste’ to generate electricity, it is feared this would simply create another end use for the native-forest woodchips overseas customers are now rejecting.
“In order to ensure the Tasmanian public is able to support new investment opportunities in this state, the government should mandate that only timber from existing plantations is used. To give the community confidence that no further native forests would be destroyed for low-value uses, Tasmania’s high-conservation-value forests must be immediately protected.”
In the emerging low-carbon economy the highest value use for native forests is in the carbon they store. The majority of the world’s wood needs can be provided by existing plantations, leaving native forests to perform their role in protecting us from dangerous climate change.
“If the Tasmanian Government is serious about being seen as a viable place for investment in the renewable energy sector, it must act immediately to protect Tasmania’s native forests,” said Mr Bayley.
Vica Bayley
