About: agroforestry
Estonia’s wood pellet industry stokes controversy
Estonia's thriving wood pellet industry is pitting environmentalists who warn it increases logging and harms biodiversity against supporters who say it makes good use of wood that would otherwise go to waste.
Hackles raised over ‘unbalanced’ forest policy ahead of EU ministerial meeting
EU countries, industry and lawmakers are pushing back against the European Commission’s new forest strategy, criticising a lack of balance between the different roles performed by forests – economic, social and environmental.
Finnish MEP: ‘I’m against the power creep in the EU’s forest strategy’
There is no such thing as a European forest, and those trying to introduce an EU-wide forest strategy that does not take account of regional differences “live in Fantasyland,” Finnish lawmaker Nils Torvalds told EURACTIV.
Agrifood Brief: Into the woods
Welcome to EURACTIV’s AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU. You can subscribe here if you haven’t done so yet. This week: EURACTIV explores the ways in which agriculture can part of the...
MEPs blast Commission’s flagship forest strategy as vague, overstepping EU remit
European lawmakers from across the political spectrum have united in criticism against the European Commission’s new flagship Forest Strategy, describing it as vague and superficial while flagging concerns that it goes beyond the remit of EU competences.
Experts: Deadly floods made worse by misguided farming practices
German environmental organisations are calling for flood protection measures to be improved and for a change to the way agricultural soils are used weeks after catastrophic flash floods deluged the country and left more than 200 dead across Western Europe. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Romania supports EU forest plan, says more talks needed over funding
Romania supports the European Commission's plan to protect forests and harness their ability to fight climate change, but more talks are needed to clarify goals and funding sources, Environment Minister Tánczos Barna said on Monday (19 July).
‘Enough with the burning’: EU executive accused of sacrificing forests
The European Commission has been accused of “sacrificing forests” after it published proposals that would allow trees to continue to be burned for fuel. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
Agrifood Brief: Money does grow on trees
Welcome to EURACTIV’s AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU. You can subscribe here if you haven’t done so yet.
EU sets the scene for carbon removal actions in farming
A new carbon removal approach in agriculture will contribute to stepping up Europe's climate ambition, the European Commission reiterated at the launch of its massive plan to cut carbon emissions by 55% before the end of the decade.
Green MEP: Voluntary schemes have failed biodiversity in forests
Voluntary schemes have not been enough to protect biodiversity in Europe's forests and more coordinated measures are needed to protect nature in the EU, according to Green lawmaker Ville Niinistö.
Forestry and climate change
The capacity of forests to act as a “carbon sink” – absorbing more CO2 than they emit – is decreasing and needs to be reversed, the European Commission said in September last year when it presented its 2030 climate target plan.
How the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive risks destroying Europe’s forests
If the Europe Union doesn’t want an explosion in the amount of wood being harvested for “renewable heat”, it’s essential that the bugs in the Renewable Energy Directive are fixed, write Samuel Thomas, Dominic Scott and Dr Jan Rosenow.
We can’t burn our way out of the climate crisis
In its new Net Zero scenario, the International Energy Agency (IEA) maps a 60% increase in bioenergy by 2050. But Swapping burning wood for burning coal won’t save the climate, warns Peg Putt.
‘Our forests are sick,’ Germany’s agriculture minister says
The German agriculture minister presented on Wednesday (24 February) a worrying annual report on the condition of German forests, which again highlights the dramatic effects of climate change on the ecosystem.
‘Win-win or lose-lose’: EU scientists highlight two-faced bioenergy policies
Around 14% of bioenergy used in Europe is of unknown origin, according to an EU report, which highlights the need to improve the tracing of wood burned for electricity production.
Commission lists agroecology, animal welfare as core environmental practices
The European Commission has unveiled the first list of environmentally friendly practices that could receive EU funding in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the EU's farming subsidy programme.
The answer to deforestation lies in space
The use of satellite technology to track and halt real-time cases of deforestation in a country like Malaysia could become a “blueprint” for ending deforestation in the Amazon, writes Daniel Mackisack.
Official: EU taking first steps to bring forestry into carbon market
The first step to bring forestry under the EU’s emissions trading scheme is to ensure that every tonne of carbon dioxide in the forest is counted so that a certification system for carbon removals can be put in place, Artur Runge-Metzger told EURACTIV.
Forestry’s climate impact ‘invisible’ under UN rules, experts say
Forests are the planet’s biggest carbon “sink” – absorbing more CO2 from the atmosphere than they emit – but their contribution to cooling the earth’s climate are currently not fully accounted for under UN rules, experts point out.
Agrifood Brief: Brexit crunch time – no time to chew the fat
Welcome to EURACTIV's AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU.
Agrifood Brief: A State of the Agricultural Union
Welcome to EURACTIV's AgriFood Brief, your weekly update on all things Agriculture & Food in the EU.
Farmers need financial reassurance to support uptake of agroforestry
In a clear nod to the strategic importance of agroforestry, the term has now cropped up in both the European Green Deal, the European Commission's roadmap for making Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050, and the EU’s flagship new food policy, the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy.