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    Fact sheet - Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Plan 2024-29

    Net sequestration of

    minus 12.51 Mt CO2-e,

    offsetting emissions from all other sectors in 2022

    $12+ million
    in existing funding for the sector

    4 key new commitments in the Plan

    The Tasmanian Government has prepared the first five-year Emissions Reduction and Resilience Plan for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector, in consultation with business, industry and the community.

    The Plan brings together new, existing, and ongoing projects in the LULUCF sector that will help us reduce emissions and build resilience to the changing climate.

    Focus areas of the Plan

    1. We will improve the data, information and knowledge needed to drive change.
    2. We will support practices and technologies that will reduce emissions and increase carbon storage.
    3. We will support the sector in the transition to a lower emissions economy.
    4. We will build resilience to the impacts of climate change.
    5. We will drive action through partnerships and collaboration.

    In 2024, government staff met with key industry and business stakeholders to develop the Plan. The draft Plan was released in late 2024 for public comment. Feedback from consultation has been used to prepare the Plan.

    Key new actions

    • Support planting of climate tolerant trees in urban environments.
    • Develop resources to increase understanding for landowners to participate in carbon and other emerging environmental markets.
    • Undertake a gap analysis and audit of Tasmania’s seed bank capacity to support research into seed sourcing, to improve the resilience of our native forests and plantations under the changing climate.
    • Work with the Australian Government to improve the transparency of LULUCF emissions reporting.

    The LULUCF Plan also includes future funding priorities to guide action over the next five years.

    The LULUCF Plan builds on existing programs and initiatives that support sustainable forest management, reduce emissions and build resilience in the land and forestry sectors.

    Snapshot of the LULUCF sector

    Greenhouse gas emissions

    The LULUCF sector includes greenhouse gas emissions from activities such as land clearing, harvesting of native forests and plantations, bushfires, and planned burns.

    The LULUCF sector also includes carbon sequestered or stored in new and regenerating forests and plantations and harvested wood products.

    The LULUCF sector has been a net carbon sink for over a decade, and offsets the emissions from all other sectors.

    Emissions from the sector have decreased significantly since 1990. The decrease has largely been driven by reductions in native forest harvesting on private land, lower rates of clearing and conversion of forested lands to other land uses, and increases in carbon sequestration from post-harvesting regeneration of forests, hardwood and softwood plantations, environmental plantings, and regrowth of previously cleared lands.

    Find out more about Tasmania’s greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and other sectors in our annual greenhouse gas report.

    Climate-related risks and opportunities

    Climate change brings considerable risks and challenges to landowners and forest managers. Tasmania’s managed forest estate is a significant carbon sink that currently offsets the emissions from all other sectors. The ability of Tasmania’s forests and plantations to continue to sequester carbon at current rates will change under the changing climate.

    There are risks for land and forest managers and agri-businesses associated with the transition to a lower emissions economy, such as regulatory changes for accounting and financial risk reporting. However, the transition also brings opportunities for the sector associated with increased demand for low emissions timber products and participation in carbon and environmental markets.

    Find out more about the Tasmanian Government’s action to build resilience to the impacts of climate change in our response to Tasmania’s Risk Assessment for Climate Change 2024

    Tasmanian LULUCF sector and sub-sector emissions – 1990 to 2022

    This figure shows changes in emissions from Tasmania’s LULUCF sector between 1990 and 2022, which have decreased from a high of 11.26 Mt CO2-e in 1990 to minus 12.51 Mt CO2-e in 2022. It also shows changes in the Forest land remaining forest land, land converted to forest land, land converted to grassland, harvested wood products, and other sub-sectors. Of these subsectors, harvested wood products and other sub sectors have remained steady over the time period, fluctuating just above and below zero. Land converted to grassland reached a high of 7.63 Mt CO2-e in 1991 before reducing steadily to 1.17 Mt CO2-e in 2022, with spikes of 2.89 and 4.27 Mt CO2-e in 2017 and 2005 respectively. Land converted to forest land has declined from a peak of 0.74 Mt CO2-e in 1991 to a low of minus 3.36 Mt CO2-e in 2016, before increasing slightly to minus 2.45 Mt CO2-e in 2022. Forest land remaining forest land peaked at 11.09 Mt CO2-e in 1995, before declining between 1996 and 1999 and peaking again at 9.47 Mt CO2-e in 2000. After this, emissions steadily declined to 2004, before reducing sharply to a minimum of minus 12.60 Mt CO2-e in 2018, and climbing slightly to minus 10.33 Mt CO2-e in 2022.