Press Release from The Oil Mallee Company of Australia Ltd - 9th December 2003
Western Australia has the capacity to establish a 2.7 billion tonne carbon dioxide sink by planting mallees on cleared agricultural land
Western Australia has the capacity to establish a 2.7 billion tonne carbon dioxide sink by planting mallees on cleared agricultural land
Professor Syd Shea, the Chairman and Managing Director of The Oil Mallee Company of Australia Ltd said "Western Australia has the capacity to establish a 2.7 billion tonne carbon dioxide sink over a 30 year period by planting belts of mallee eucalypts on cleared agricultural land in the wheatbelt".
Professor Shea was presenting a paper to the Kyoto Protocol’s 9th Conference of the Parties being held in Milan this week.
"Mallee eucalypts are ideally suited for absorbing carbon dioxide over long periods of time. Legislation established by the Western Australian Government has paved the way for partnerships between farmers and investors which secures the carbon rights of mallee while at the same time preserving the title of farm land to participating farmers.
The plantings of mallee eucalypts proposed - 3 million hectares - would make a major contribution to reducing salinity (estimated to affect an average of one third of every farm over the next three to four decades), provide a new source of income for farmers and significant employment opportunities in regional Western Australia"
Professor Shea said "The oil mallee industry has already established 25 million mallee trees on farmland. This includes the establishment of 2.5 million trees on 1000 ha of farmland by the Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc."
Chief Manger of Office of Environmental Considerations of Kansai, Dr. Taiichiro Suda, said "Kansai is delighted that the planting program has been so successful."
Kansai is one of the largest power companies in Japan. Its annual power generation is equivalent to the total power generated in Australia. The Company’s annual revenue is more than AU$37 billion dollars and it has more than 12 million customers including the residents of Kyoto, the city which lends its name to the Kyoto Protocol.
Professor Syd Shea said "I am confident that this pilot project has confirmed that Western Australia is the best place in the world to offset carbon dioxide emissions".
"I understand that the Commonwealth Government need to be cautious before entering into international agreements but it is inevitable that Australia will face ‘ecological trade tariffs’ if it does not ratify the Kyoto Protocol."
"If we are committed to meeting the Kyoto targets it is difficult to understand why we would disqualify ourselves from the benefits of the protocol by not ratifying it."
Professor Shea said "Our research confirms that planting trees to ameliorate salinity would be a profitable venture if the carbon dioxide locked up in the trees could be sold."
Contacts:
Tym Duncanson Phone: 0439 900 376 / 9319 8100
Email tym@oilmallee.com.au