Green Groups, Foresters United On Climate Policies

2 November 2007
Major environmental groups and forest owners in New Zealand have joined forces to call for stronger climate change policies that introduce a price on all greenhouse gases in all sectors without delay, that are fairer across the sectors and that protect indigenous biodiversity and natural carbon stores.
In a show of unity on the issue, the groups on 29 October formally signed the New Zealand Climate Change Accord, an extension of the 1991 New Zealand Forest Accord.
"The Emissions Trading Scheme and associated forestry policy provides a potential platform for dealing appropriately with greenhouse gas emissions and is a step in the right direction, but the policies need to adequately recognise the climate change and other environmental benefits of indigenous and plantation forests," says Peter Berg, president of the NZ Forest Owners Association.
Signatories to the accord are the Environment & Conservation Organisations of NZ (ECO), Federated Mountain Clubs, Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society, Sustainable Energy Forum, WWF-New Zealand, NZ Farm Forestry Association, NZ Forest Owners Association, New Zealand Timber Design Society, Pacific Institute of Resource Management, and the Ecologic Foundation
”Unfortunately, the scheme fully shelters agriculture from the costs of their emissions until after 2013, with partial shelter continuing until 2025,” says Cath Wallace of ECO. “This means intensive farming in particular will be subsidised by taxpayers who will pay for their emissions obligations, while forestry is not getting full recognition for storing carbon out of harm's way.”
Molly Melhuish of the Sustainable Energy Forum says forestry can make a major contribution to New Zealand meeting its emission reduction targets, and even to improving security of energy supply.
"Some logs that were virtually uneconomic to export are now being solar-dried in the forest, and used for fuel to replace coal and electricity,” says Melhuish. “Carbon is stored in trees, and wood products substitute for materials such as steel and concrete that produce greater greenhouse gas emissions when they are being manufactured. Mill and forest residues could provide almost as much energy as today's hydro resource."
Professor Andy Buchanan of the Timber Design Society adds that timber used as a building material can make a major contribution to carbon emissions reductions through carbon being stored in wood products, reduced emissions in the manufacturing process compared with other materials, and carbon neutral energy obtained from wood waste during manufacturing, construction, use and demolition of buildings.

$12m Contract To Supply Fuel Pellet Plant

The Forest Products Commission (FPC) has signed a $12 million contract to supply low grade plantation pine logs to Plantation Energy Ltd.
The low grade logs are a by-product of an existing FPC operation to thin and export logs from 3500 ha of radiata pine planted around Albany in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Plantation Energy executive director Gavin Harper said the company was constructing Australia’s first industrial scale timber fuel pellet plant, scheduled for completion early next year at Albany’s Mirambeena timber precinct. The finished fuel pellets will be exported for domestic and industrial heating.
FPC general manager Dr Paul Biggs said the new contract would help increase profitability of the Albany radiata plantation operations for all parties – landowners, harvesting and transportation contractors, the FPC, and Plantation Energy.
“In any form of primary production it’s always important to minimise wastage and extract the best possibe value from the resource,” Dr Biggs said. “Finding a way to add value to this low grade resource to manufacture and export a renewable energy fuel product is better for the environment and at the same time it will help the entire plantation industry become more profitable.”
Biggs said this was an excellent example of the FPC partnering with industry to produce a win-win-win for the triple bottom line of environmental, economic and social sustainability.
Gavin Harper said Plantation Energy had been developing the fuel pellet concept at Albany for several years before formally launching the company in 2006. “The new plant will bring total investment in excess of $20million to the Albany region, with significant further investment planned in other regions,” he said.
“The new plant will create around 12-15 full time permanent jobs in Albany, with additional short term positions during the construction phase. The operation will also provide employment to local contractors supporting the plantation industry in the Great Southern region with the associated general economic benefits to local suppliers and service industries.”
Harper said use of fuel pellets sourced from sustainably-managed plantations instead of fossil fuels would make a significant contribution to the global reduction of carbon emissions.

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