A new report suggests Tasmania's highest emitting industry is logging. 

Forest ecologist Dr Jennifer Sanger has completed a report in collaboration with The Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian Climate Collective, which finds that greenhouse gas emissions from native forest logging are equivalent to about 4.65 million tonnes of carbon each year. 

The report, which has not been formally peer-reviewed, claims that close to two-thirds of the carbon from a logged native forest is released into the atmosphere within two years in the form of slash burning, mill waste, and paper products with a short life span. 

The experts say that Tasmania should follow Victoria and Western Australia's lead and end native forest logging. This would allow 75 million tonnes of carbon to be absorbed by the state's production forests by 2050. 

Dr Sanger says having the timber industry focus on plantation forests instead would be more efficient and create less waste.

“If we protected our forests, especially the forests that are re-growing from previous logging, they're drawing down significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, and if we protect them that means the carbon is going to be stored long-term,” Dr Sanger said. 

“It's a really, really good climate solution for us.”

More details are available here.