EU Climate PackageClimate Factor “Forests”: Conflicting Goals

26 October 2021, by CEN Universität Hamburg

Photo: Unsplash/bruyndonckx

The EU has launched a climate package called “Fit for 55”, which also concerns forests. The problem: the individual measures are intended to offset CO₂ emissions, but in some cases they contradict each other or achieve just the opposite of their goals. These are the findings of an analysis by forestry scientist Prof. Michael Köhl from Universität Hamburg’s Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN).

One part of the climate package is a draft for a new forestry strategy (the EU Forest Strategy) that calls for managing forests in a way that preserves both the climate and biodiversity. Forests and wood products play a key role in climate protection, since, as a renewable material, wood stores CO₂ on a long-term basis and fewer emissions are generated during its production – in contrast to concrete or steel. At the same time, wood products could replace plastic packaging in the future. Accordingly, managed forests should definitely be preserved or expanded. The new forest strategy proposes planting at least three billion new trees in the EU by 2030.

However, another measure intended to preserve biodiversity calls for 30 percent of the total area of the EU to be put under protected status, including 10 percent under strict protection. Since crop fields, pastures and towns can hardly serve as protection zones, in the future, more and more forests could be designated as protected areas. However, this would prevent lumber being harvested to the extent that it is today – a contradiction. “In terms of climate protection, this is counterproductive,” says forestry expert Michael Köhl. “In a managed forest where young trees are planted and mature trees are harvested, in the medium term we can remove significantly more CO₂ from the atmosphere than if the forest were placed under protection and we refrained from using the lumber. In this case, management translates into better climate protection.”

The updated Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) regulation is similarly contradictory. Intended to boost the natural carbon absorption of soils and plants, and to compensate for emissions in the process, the program focuses on forests as carbon sinks and has set itself the goal of increasing the amount of carbon stored EU-wide annually from 280 million to 310 million metric tons by 2030. This is to be achieved e.g. via afforestation. But this will hardly be possible in less than 10 years, since young trees can only store very little carbon. In turn, to keep the original deadline, the only option would be to reduce harvesting, so as to keep the desired amount of additional carbon in the forest, at least in the short term.

“The regulation only considers the carbon balance within the forest’s borders. But that’s too short-sighted,” says Köhl. “The wood is used in housing construction, furniture and windows – which means the carbon is also stored on a long-term basis outside the forest.” At the same time, wood can be used to replace construction materials that involve high-emissions production processes – saving even more CO₂.

According to the forestry expert: “These effects aren’t taken into account. The instruments are all considered individually, but not in terms of their interaction. We need a more comprehensive approach, one that views the potential that forests hold for achieving climate neutrality at all levels.”