About: LULUCF
Forests are crucial in salvaging the Paris goals – EU must lead the way
In addition to halting deforestation, the European Union must support efforts to allow forest regeneration and sequestering more carbon dioxide, write Heidi Hautala and Carlos Zorrinho.
Halting deforestation – a critical contribution from the EU
Halting deforestation and allowing forests to regrow would provide at least 30% of all mitigation action needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C. As a major importer of products linked to deforestation, the EU has the leverage to make a difference, writes former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.
Five reasons why the EU’s bioenergy policy will backfire
EU policymakers have failed to ensure that continuing support to wood burning for energy production will help fight climate change, for five main reasons, writes Linde Zuidema.
France to manage its ‘carbon sink’ for 2050 goal
Optimising the wood-energy sector is key for France to attain its objective of becoming carbon neutral in 2050. However, 60% of forests in the country are left unmanaged nowadays. EURACTIV.fr reports
Forest owners boss: ‘Sustainable forest management crucial to maintaining carbon cycle ‘
Sustainable forest management is vital to ensure that Europe meets its climate and energy goals. But over-regulating forest bioenergy would damage the sector’s economic performance and undermine its potential for climate change mitigation, Emma Berglund told EURACTIV in an interview.
Wood from German forests as climate-neutral fuel?
Germany is the EU's richest country in forest and wood. According to European Commision plans, German forests are meant to be used much more as energy sources in the future. EURACTIV Germany reports.
European forests and climate change
Forests are Europe’s biggest carbon sinks and forestry the sector with the greatest potential to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the quantities needed to meet the bloc’s objectives under the Paris Agreement.
Balancing emissions and removals from Europe’s forests
EU policymakers face a big challenge to maximise the economic potential of Europe’s forestry sector while balancing its carbon emissions and removals. But it's one they will have to rise to if the bloc is to meet its climate and energy targets.
EU strikes deal on zero emission target for forest sector by 2030
EU member states reached a preliminary agreement with the European Parliament on the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) regulation on Thursday (14 December), closing the trilogues ahead of a plenary vote in January.
‘Energy dash for biomass’ risks wasting potential of EU’s bioeconomy
By failing to take a holistic approach and treat the LULUCF and renewable energy dossiers as separate and distinct issues, the EU is slicing Europe’s bioeconomy up like a piece of salami, warns Sylvain Lhôte.
Activists denounce EU’s ‘double-faced’ climate policy
Loopholes in a draft EU law aimed at curbing global warming emissions from transport, buildings and agriculture will result in a mere 23% cut by 2030 instead of the 30% originally foreseen, environmental activists have warned, denouncing a cynical ploy by EU member states to dodge their pledges made under the Paris Agreement.
Making woody biomass truly sustainable
Biomass is only sustainable and renewable when sourced from responsibly managed forests that are growing, not from old growth, primary forest or protected biodiverse areas. And this should be independently verified, writes Dr Rebecca Heaton.
Decision time for EU forest and climate policy
Forests are uniquely linked to climate change because they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. So why is the EU on the verge of following a disastrous path in a key area of climate policy? wonders Hanna Aho.
Need for a scientific basis of EU climate policy on forests
A group of scientists has sent an open letter to EU decision-makers, warning that a planned increase in harvesting levels for EU forests for bioenergy use risk having a negative impact on the climate.
Figueres calls for EU action plan on ‘imported deforestation’
Former UN climate Chief Christiana Figueres, one of the architects of the Paris Agreement, has called on the European Union to step up regulatory action against deforestation in the global south by tackling emissions of imported agricultural goods, like beef, soy and palm oil.
Parliament adds forest ‘sinks’ to EU’s 2030 carbon budget
MEPs approved new rules on Wednesday (13 September) accounting for the "negative emissions" from forestry as part of the EU’s 2030 climate change policy, a move welcomed by conservationists but which scientists warn risks creating incentives to burn cheap biomass.
Will the European Parliament take the high road on climate and forests?
Ahead of a European Parliament vote on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), Hannah Aho explains how MEPs have both strengthened and weakened draft forest rules she says are essential in the fight against climate change.
MEPs back Commission’s opinion-dividing land use proposal
The European Parliament’s environment committee on Tuesday (11 July) adopted a proposal on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). But the draft report has provoked criticism across sectors, as it now moves towards a full plenary vote and trialogue.
Short-term views on forest climate benefits is a mistake
The Commission’s land-use proposal risks being a step backwards in transitioning to a fossil fuel-free economy. Mårten Larsson explains the alternatives.
Forest accounting rules put EU’s climate credibility at risk
Forest mitigation should be measured using a scientifically-objective approach, not allowing countries to hide the impacts of policies that increase net emissions, writes a group of environmental scientists led by Dr Joanna I House.
Science-based forest policies urgently needed for effective climate action
There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to take effective climate action, and EU forest policies need to be more science-based to succeed, write Michael Norton and Jaana Bäck.
EU has opportunity to seize global leadership on forests and climate
Former ‘climate heroes’ France, Finland, Sweden and Austria are fighting tooth and nail to weaken EU land accounting rules, also known as the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation, writes Hannah Mowat.
Leaked paper exposes EU countries’ abuse of climate loophole
EXCLUSIVE/ European Union countries exploited loopholes in United Nations forestry rules to pocket carbon credits worth €600 million and the equivalent of global-warming emissions from 114 million cars.