Electricity produced by burning waste wood from native forests can no longer be considered a kind of renewable energy. This is based on a modification in regulation that the Albanese administration approved, The Guardian reported.

This decision reverses a policy change made by the Abbott government in 2015 that permitted burning native forest wood to be included alongside solar and wind power towards the national renewable energy goal. In September, Labor had vowed to explore this change after it was proposed by a Senate committee.

Concerns That Were Raised

According to the report, conservation organizations have voiced concerns that the authority to burn logging waste to generate renewable energy certificates, which in turn give a subsidy for clean energy output, might be used as an opportunity to continue cutting down native forests. 

They voiced their disapproval of plans by certain power plant owners to begin utilizing native forest wood as an alternative to coal-fired electricity.

The consultation process got over 2,900 responses. The climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the adjustment was in line with strong and longstanding community sentiments. 

He claimed that "transitional arrangements" had been made for a single factory in Western Australia that had applied to utilize wood pellets as an energy source.

In his words, "We have listened to the community and acted to address their concerns."

Janet Rice, the forests spokesperson for the Green Party, hailed the decision as "a major win for the climate, for native forests, and clean energy.

She added that the minority party had secured a commitment from the government to reconsider the practice during agreements over climate change legislation earlier this year.

Rice argued that using wood from native forests for electricity production was disastrous for the planet. 

"Pretending it was renewable was ludicrous. The Greens fought hard to end this farce, and we're glad that the government has worked with us and listened to the community who campaigned hard to end this absurdity."

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Threats to Environment and Economy

This news comes as native forests face mounting economic and environmental threats, said The Guardian. 

Last month, Victoria's historic supreme court verdict concluded that the state logging corporation, VicForests, had failed to safeguard endangered glider species. Reportedly, its techniques for detecting them before harvesting were insufficient.

It has caused more people to question whether or not the state's native forest logging sector can survive until the government mandates the end of the practice in 2030. 

In 2024, logging in Washington state's natural forests is scheduled to cease.

Last week, Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek gave indications that the federal government was interested in collaborating with the states to ensure that the new national environmental standards it has pledged to start introducing would be applied to regional forestry agreement. It is expected to effectively end the exemption of state-sanctioned logging from national environment laws.

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