Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Senator Richard Colbeck, said Australians could expect to see a stream of desperate anti-forestry campaigns. Source: Timberbiz
“… on ABC Country Hour we heard Alistair Graham blatantly ignore sound science and attack the emerging global biomass industry,” Senator Colbeck said.
“Graham’s suggestion that generating energy from coal is better than biomass is absurd.”
“It’s a bit like Bob Brown in the 1980s suggesting we should build coal fired power stations instead of hydro dams.”
“Mr Graham claimed that biomass damages the environment, yet WWF endorses the European Biomass Industry’s biomass blueprint and describes it as a source of clean energy that can gradually replace coal and other fossil fuels and bring environmental benefits.”
“The problem for these local fringe groups, who have been deceiving Australians for years, is that the value of biomass is endorsed by global groups such as the WWF who have called for 15% of energy generated in OECD countries by 2020 to come from biomass,” he said.
Senator Colbeck said biomass could actually reduce CO2 emissions by up to 96% when calculated on a life cycle basis, as demonstrated in a compilation of global science published in the journal Future Science in 2011.
Senator Colbeck said green groups have incorrectly spent decades claiming forest operations would destroy our forests forever and continue to do so.
Senator Colbeck said green groups are becoming increasingly exposed by science and their anti-forestry campaigns are sounding desperate and isolated.
