Carbon negative is the term used to describe a country, area, or organisation that eliminates more carbon emissions than it emits in the air. Tasmania has recently become one of the first island states to lower its carbon emissions and become carbon negative. Tasmanian native forests were previously logged for the manufacture of pulpwood. The island state is the first to become carbon negative due to the decrease in forest logging activities. This was done by changing the policies in forest management.

Other regions, especially in Australia, can take inspiration from the arrangements made in forest management to reduce their carbon emissions and help decrease Australia’s emissions. Proper forest management could largely aid in limiting the effects of global warming and climate change and could also aid the world’s leaders in setting certain climate targets. As per studies and reports, many carbon emissions are mainly due to deforestation and degradation of ecosystems, natural habitats, and forests.

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Tasmania achieving the status of ‘carbon negative’ is truly inspiring and remarkable. Usually, the focus mainly lies on ‘carbon neutral areas’ and not on ‘carbon negative areas’. The island state of Tasmania is a great example of a jurisdiction that has gone carbon-negative first instead of carbon neutral. Tasmania has witnessed a huge change in the island state’s carbon emission accounts. Tasmania has transformed from once being a net emitter of C0₂ and various other gases to reducing and lowering its C0₂ than it is emitting into the air. Its net emissions today are in the negative.

Altering forest policies and management to be suitable for the environment can be developed into an effective strategy to reduce carbon emissions and enable natural forests to grow and heal. A recently published paper, titled ‘Environment Research Letters’, focused on how keeping and tackling C0₂ emissions in forests could help limit climate change effects. As forests and ecosystems store most of the carbon dioxide in them, protecting them will lower the emissions in a particular area. It is important that nations look at forests, wildlife, ecosystems, and national parts as essential natural assets and as national carbon reserves. This will benefit not only nations but also the world. As Tasmania takes the lead in becoming one of the first to turn carbon negative by empowering forests, other nations too must follow in its footsteps on becoming carbon negative.