Brussels, 20/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - In an effort to include European agriculture and forestry in the EU's 2030 climate goals and implement the Paris Agreement, the European Commission presented a draft regulation on Wednesday 20 July. This will encourage the so-called Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector to respect the carbon neutral objective by 2030.
This proposal is part of the "summer package" on the climate adopted the same day by the College of Commissioners (see other article). This will cover the changes to soil and forestry recovering from the use of soil, trees, plants, biomass and wood. This sector produces greenhouse gas emissions but it is also able to absorb CO2. Forests really are carbon sinks and can absorb almost 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the EU year, explains the Commission. The draft regulation seeks to help, protect and strengthen the capability of forests and soils to absorb CO2.
No debit rule. Under the terms of the proposed regulation, each member state will have to guarantee that CO2 emissions from using soils are completely compensated by the equivalent absorption of CO2 resulting from the same sector. This commitment has been named the "no debit rule".
Therefore, if a member state contributes to deforestation by cutting down trees, it will have to compensate the emissions resulting from this deforestation by planting a new forest (forestation) or by improving the sustainable management of forests, cultivated land and existing plains. The Commission is hoping that this commitment will encourage the member states to take action to increase the ability of agricultural land and forests to absorb CO2.
The Commission is also proposing rules for calculating emissions and simplified forest management that are more reliable and based on those of the Kyoto protocol that member states should be using. The proposal updates the reference period for the calculation of averages between 2005-2007, in an effort to provide a stable reference level, in line with the reference date (2005) set out for reducing emissions in sectors not covered by the emissions trading scheme (ETS) (see other article).
Flexibility. Member states will have a certain amount of flexibility in their efforts to achieve their respective objectives. If the net absorption of CO2 is above the net emissions from the use of soil during the first compliance period (2021-2025), the proposal will allow them to be put in reserve and used during the following period (2026-2030). If a member state calculates net emissions from land and forestry, it will be, in order to comply with the no debit rule, use emission quotas under the terms of the regulation on effort sharing between member states in the sectors not covered by the ETS. Member states will also be able to purchase or sell net absorptions between themselves. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)