The changes to the Renewable Energy Target negotiated today between Federal Liberal and Labor are a shameful leap backwards, at a time when action on climate change is urgent. The Federal Government’s obsessive intention to include burning native forests for electricity to gain renewable energy certificates will only mean climate catastrophe, entrenched forest destruction and will send endangered species to extinction, The Bob Brown Foundation said today.
“Native forest furnaces gaining renewable energy certificates will exacerbate climate change, will be at a cost to growing jobs in real renewable energy sectors, a cost to the taxpayer by propping up the native forest logging industry with subsidies and will seriously threaten the survival of forests, threatened and endangered species,” Jenny Weber said.
“Endangered species like the Lead-beaters possum in Victoria and the Swift Parrot in Tasmania and NSW are losing critical habitat from ongoing native forest logging. The Australian public will reject electricity produced by burning native species habitat,” Bob Brown Foundation’s Campaign Manager Jenny Weber said.
“The Foundation welcomes Federal Labor opposition to the Federal Government’s inclusion of wood waste fuel as a renewable source and implore Federal Labor to stand strong on this position. In an embarrassing move for Tasmania, both the
Tasmanian Labor and Liberal parties would rather risk growing jobs in the renewable energy sector, human health, entrench native forest logging and endangered species habitat loss and contribute to a climate crisis by supporting the inclusion of wood waste eligibility for renewable energy certificates,” Jenny Weber said.
“Tasmanian Labor disagreeing with their Federal counterparts on this issue shows ignorance of a declining native forest industry, the climate impacts of burning wood waste, and a desperate attempt to replace an economically and environmentally devastating wood-chipping industry. When the Opposition Leader Bryan Green claims that his support for including wood waste within the RET scheme is about ‘small-scale biomass innovation’ he is seeking a polluting smoke screen for entrenching large scale logging of native forests,” Jenny Weber said.
Jenny Weber, The Bob Brown Foundation
