Analysis: Measures Pushed By Anti-Forestry Groups Would Reduce Carbon Sequestration By 35%, Shrink Forest Area, And Eliminate North Carolina’s 70,000 Forestry Jobs
This morning, Future Forests + Jobs released a study responding to a recent report from the Dogwood Alliance and the Center for Sustainable Economy that examined the carbon impact of North Carolina’s forest products industry. Dogwood/CSE advocated for a massive government intervention into private land ownership in order to maximize carbon sequestration from North Carolina’s forest land.
The new Future Forest + Jobs analysis of Dogwood/CSE’s report, synthesizing existing research, finds Dogwood/CSE’s policy recommendations would actually reduce carbon sequestration by 35%, shrink forest area, and eliminate over 70,000 jobs in North Carolina.
“Our latest analysis shows that the policies being pushed by anti-forestry groups the Dogwood Alliance and the Center for Sustainable Economy would actually reduce carbon sequestration from North Carolina’s forests, shrink forest area, and destroy some 70,000 forestry-related jobs in the state — a disaster for the climate and for North Carolina’s rural economy,” said Brian Rogers, Future Forests + Jobs Spokesman. “These results further demonstrate that these groups care more about attacking the forest products and bioenergy sectors than making smart, scientifically-supported climate and energy policy. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other leading climate science authorities have repeatedly confirmed that renewable wood bioenergy like that harvested in North Carolina plays a vital role in replacing fossil fuels and meeting the great challenge of global climate change.”
