That is around ten percent of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions per year. In order to achieve the ambitious climate goals by 2050, the forests would have to store around 170 megatons more per year. According to a report by the “European Forest Institute” (EFI), experts do not quite see the potential required for this.
According to EU plans, no more greenhouse gases may be emitted by 2050 than can be compensated for in other ways. So-called net-zero emissions would then be achieved. However, this cannot be done without removing CO2 from the atmosphere. This is exactly what forests have always done naturally when they build up biomass. Accordingly, the uptake of carbon by Europe’s forests would have to be increased. In order to achieve the EU targets, in addition to the current 380 megatons of CO2 equivalents per year, another 50 megatons from 2030, 100 megatons from 2035 and 170 megatons from 2050 would have to be “parked” in the forest or in wood products that have been used for as long as possible ” will.
For their report on “Forest-based climate protection and adaptation in Europe”, the EFI experts combed through scientific literature from numerous countries. The forest system expert Florian Kraxner from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg near Vienna was also involved as an assessor in the creation of the paper.
If the loss of forest areas were prevented and reforestation promoted and wood used more in products that are used for a very long time, an additional 72 megatons of CO2 equivalents could be stored in the territory of the 27 EU member states by 2050. In combination with further forest protection measures, improvements in forest management and reductions in timber harvesting, this value could increase to 143 megatons per year. Even if there are great uncertainties behind these figures, the analysis shows that it will be challenging to achieve the assumptions behind the EU goals in the forest and wood sector, the scientists write.
The team of authors sees the greatest potential for additional carbon storage in the large countries Sweden, Finland, Spain, France, Poland and Germany. Here, the additional possibilities for carbon storage shown in various studies are on average around or over ten megatons per year with a view towards 2050.
For Austria, the additional potential is estimated at around four additional megatons per year. In this country, the possibilities of binding more carbon through reforestation are generally rather small – after all, Austria is already very high with its forest share of around 50 percent of the national area. According to the report, storage potential can be increased primarily through improvements in forest management. This also applies, for example, to the heavily forested Scandinavian countries.
Source: Nachrichten
