On Tuesday 17 March, the Environment Council will debate the implementation of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF), which sets out the contribution of forests and soils to carbon neutrality.
Nine Member States (Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia) will address this issue during a ‘Miscellaneous’ agenda item. In a note (https://aeur.eu/f/l76 ), they stress the unique role of forests in the fight against climate change and the development of the bioeconomy, but warn about the growing pressure from droughts, storms, wildfires and pest outbreaks (see EUROPE 13686/5).
According to these countries, the increase in aging forest stands is reducing the capacity of forests to absorb CO2, which has fallen from more than 300 million tonnes in the 1990s to less than 200 million tonnes today. They call for a reassessment of the post-2030 objectives, giving priority to the resilience and health of ecosystems rather than short-term storage targets, and insist that active forest managers who ensure the productivity and resilience of forests should not be penalised.
The implementation of LULUCF must take better account of silvicultural practices, such as phytosanitary salvage logging, which is already compulsory in several countries. The Member States are calling for better accounting of timber harvested at European level. They reiterate the importance of a competitive, sustainable and strategic wood industry for the European economy and bioeconomy, and call on the Commission to adopt a pragmatic approach, adapted to climatic hazards and natural disturbances. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)