Time for a fresh look at forest sinks

EU forests and the forest sector play a significant role in the EU greenhouse gas balance. These forests and their products reduce emissions, enhance sinks, store carbon and provide a continuous stream of ecosystem services, including wood products, energy and biodiversity conservation. EU forests and the forest sector currently produce an overall climate mitigation impact that amounts to about 13% of the total EU emissions.

There is great scope to enhance the role of EU forests in tackling climate change. A new bottom-up approach to mitigation commitments has emerged in the UNFCCC climate negotiations process, opening the way to greater flexibility. New data has also enabled scientists to understand how to better use the forest sector in tackling climate change.

These developments justify taking a fresh look at the forest sector's contribution to tackling climate change. The EU has already decided that emissions and removals from Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) will be included in its 2030 climate policy framework, with a decision on exactly how to do so expected in 2016.

The new EFI From Science to Policy study "A new role for forests and the forest sector in the EU post-2020 climate targets" aims to support EU policy makers in answering this complex question. It concludes that with the right incentives and investments, a significant contribution can be expected from EU forests, forestry and the forest-based industries. There could be a combined, additional effect on top of the existing sink and substitution of as much as 9% of current EU CO2 emissions – some 400 Mt CO2/y by 2030.

The study is launched today at a ThinkForest side-event at the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris. Further information about the event can be found at www.thinkforest.efi.int

ThinkForest is EFI's high-level discussion forum which brings together policy makers and the scientific community, as well as stakeholders. Chaired by former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson, ThinkForest is a unique forum which helps to build bridges on pan-European forest and bioeconomy issues.

More information:
www.efi.int/files/attachments/ … /efi_fstp_2_2015.pdf

Provided by European Forest Institute