We are in a climate crisis. One positive and powerful thing we must do to address the climate crisis is immediately stop destroying our native forests. Right now in NSW we are logging our precious forests like there is no tomorrow. Not only is this adding to the climate crisis through the carbon emissions released when our forests are logged, it is taking away our front line defence against the worst impacts of climate change. Our native forests draw down and store carbon from the atmosphere, the carbon which is driving the climate crisis. 

This season the planet broke its hottest global average temperature for four days in a row. Temperatures in Antarctica were 4.5 degrees above average and locations across the world sweltered under heat they have never before experienced. 

Young forest defenders in NSW are calling on the Government to step up and take action. They locked onto logging machinery and halted logging operations in Orara and Boambee State Forests. Young people on school holidays took time out of their HSC studies to do what the climate scientists say we must, but the NSW government won’t - stop the logging of our precious native forests. 

Native forest logging in NSW is a high emitting industry, releasing around 3.6 million tonnes of carbon (CO2e) into the atmosphere every year. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of 840,000 medium sized cars or four and a half times the annual emissions of domestic aviation in NSW. 

Ending native forest logging immediately would prevent short-term emissions of 1.8 million tonnes of carbon (CO2e) per year and long-term emissions of around 76 million tonnes of carbon (CO2e) by 2050. This is a carbon mitigation cost of around $2.5 billion, based on the current low costs of carbon per tonne. 

Ending native forest logging is a low-cost, effective and immediate way to take real action on the climate crisis. Forests are the largest storage banks for carbon on land and older trees are much more efficient at capturing dangerous carbon dioxide than younger trees. Managing old growth forests and regenerating logged and regrowing forests is essential to reducing the impacts of climate change. Older forests are more resistant to fire, floods and drought and provide landscape resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The NSW Government has committed to legislating emissions reductions targets but we are yet to see a roadmap of how we will achieve those targets. 

Protecting and regenerating our precious native forests is climate action and its urgent.  

Sign the petition to end native forest logging for climate action now.  

Source: Jennifer Sanger, 2023, NSW Forest Carbon: An Effective Climate Change Solution