State Government’s Draft Climate Change Action Plan has major blindspots

The Tasmanian Conservation Trust today released key findings from it’s submission to the State Government’s Draft Climate Change Action Plan, stating that the government has major blind-spots when it comes forestry, native forest clearing for agriculture and population increase.

The Minister for State Growth Matthew Groom released the ‘Embracing the Climate Challenge: Tasmania’s draft climate change action plan 2016-2021’ for public comment just prior to Christmas and submissions were due by last Friday 25 March 2016.

Responding to the Draft Climate Action Plan, TCT Director Peter McGlone said “The plan fails to honestly account for the likely increased emissions from a massive population increase promoted by the state government and fails to rule out increased levels of forestry and native forest clearing for agriculture.

“It is rather cynical of the government to boldly proclaim in the Draft Climate Action Plan that there has been huge carbon emission reductions achieved by reductions in forestry activity and forest clearing, but to choose not to include any actions regarding forestry and clearing in the plan.

“The plan fails to commit to maintaining or reducing current logging and clearing levels and this leaves me fearful that these could increase again.

“The government’s stance is doubly cynical given the failure of the plan to mention two important decisions it is soon to take regarding forestry and clearing.

“There is no reference in the plan to the potential to reduce carbon emissions through the current review of the Permanent Native Forest Estate Policy (the state’s native forest clearing policy) or Forestry Tasmania’s likely need to reduce the scale of logging to address non compliance issues related to its application for Forest Stewardship Certification.

“The government makes a number of very ambitious target suggestions, including an aim for zero carbon emissions, but without making commitments to at least keep logging and clearing at current rates, such targets will mean little.”

The TCT recommends targets for each major sector including that there is a continued reduction in forestry activities and that there is an immediate end to broad-scale clearing of native forests.

The Draft Action Plan makes the outrageous unsubstantiated claim that Tasmania does not having any major constraints to population expansion, in particular that Tasmania “does not have any shortages of land or water” and that we do not have “the same congestion issues that some cities in mainland Australia are facing.” There is also no consideration of the increased emissions of another 150,000 people in Tasmania that the government’s population strategy aims for.

“Hobart’s recent traffic problems show just how absurd the claim regarding congestion is” Mr McGlone continued.

“The TCT recommends for the government to review its population target to determine a truly sustainable population for Tasmania.

“Population policy must take into account the impacts of climate change on our capacity to accommodate more people and the carbon emissions that would result from increasing population, including from building more houses, roads and other infrastructure and their likely consumption during their lifetime”, Mr McGlone concluded.