With the new legislation, the EU increases the target for carbon sequestrations in land use and forestry to reduce greenhouse gases in the EU by up to 57% compared to 1990.

By 479 votes to 97 with 43 abstentions, Parliament today approved the revision of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation. The aim of the review is to improve carbon absorption by natural sinks to make the EU the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and to improve biodiversity, as part of the European Green Deal.

European and national targets to strengthen natural carbon sinks by 2030

The EU’s 2030 target for net greenhouse gas removals in land, land-use change and forestry is set at 310 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, an increase of around 15% compared to today’s values. This new EU target is expected to further reduce greenhouse gases in the EU in 2030 from 55% to around 57% compared to 1990 levels.

A binding target for land-based removals and emissions will be set for each EU Member State for 2030, based on recent data and the potential for further improvement. Existing rules, under which EU countries must ensure that greenhouse gas emissions from land use, land use change and forestry activities do not exceed the amounts removed from the atmosphere, will remain in place until 2025. From from 2026 onwards EU countries will have a four-year budget for 2026-2029, instead of binding annual targets.

Management, flexibility and supervision

To meet their targets, Member States will be able to buy and sell carbon credits under two regulations (LULUCF and Effort Sharing Regulation). A mechanism is also established which will ensure that the member states will be able to be compensated in case of natural disasters, such as e.g. forest fires.

The new regulation will improve the monitoring, reporting and verification processes for carbon emissions and removals. This will be achieved, among other things, by using more geographic data and remote sensing methods, so that EU countries can more accurately monitor the progress they are making towards their targets.

EU countries will be required to take corrective action if they are found to be not making sufficient progress towards their targets. Penalties will also be imposed on countries that do not comply with the rules: specifically, if a country exceeds its greenhouse gas budget for the period 2026-2029, 108% of the amount of those greenhouse gases will be added to its 2030 target. gases. To ensure that the EU meets its targets, the European Commission will present a progress report no later than six months after the first global assessment agreed under the Paris Agreement. If deemed appropriate, the Commission will submit additional legislative proposals.

Statements

After the vote, rapporteur Ville Niinistö (Greens, Finland) said: “Over the last ten years the EU’s carbon sinks have been decreasing. The legislation we passed today will ensure that the land sector contributes to tackling the climate crisis by now setting a more ambitious target and putting in place safeguards such as better data collection and stricter reporting obligations, more transparency, and and a review of the rules no later than 2025. For the first time legislation takes into account both biodiversity and the climate crisis, while Member States must now take into account the principle of no significant harm.’

Next steps

The text must now be formally adopted by the Council. It will then be published in the Official Journal of the EU and enter into force 20 days later.

Athena Papakosta