A new regulation is making its way through the European Parliament which is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the land use and forestry sector post-2020.
Adoption of the regulation, which concerns GHG emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), would see the land use sector being formally included in EU climate policy for the first time.
Along with this proposed regulation, another proposal has been presented concerning GHG emission reductions in the non Emissions Trading System (ETS) sector, known as the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), – where it is proposed to include agriculture and land use.
Until now the ETS has set caps on emission from sectors such as manufacturing and aviation, and the Effort Sharing Decision (precursor to the ESR) has set annual national GHG emission limits for the period 2013-2020.
LULUCF accounted for a net removal of about 303m tonnes of CO2 in the whole EU in 2012, which is equivalent to about 9% of emissions from other sectors.
These removals were dominated by CO2 absorbed by existing and new forests, while emissions from the LULUCF sector resulted from land use change, especially from forests to other land uses, and from cropland.
What is the current situation regarding the LULUCF sector?
Up to 2020, EU Member States are committed under the Kyoto Protocol to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions from land use are compensated by equivalent removals of CO₂ made possible by additional action (such as planting new trees) in the sector (the ‘no debit rule’), a European Parliament briefing paper states.
It also outlines that there are no formal commitments for the period after expiry of the Kyoto Protocol.
Decision No 529/2013/EU of the European Parliament and Council lays down accounting rules for greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from land use, land-use change and forestry.
What would change if the regulation is adopted?
Adoption of the regulation would see a legal framework established for GHG emissions and removals from the LULUCF sector from 2021 onwards.
This sector comprises mainly forest land and agricultural land, as well as land whose use has changed to, or from, one of these uses.
The scope includes the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The approach, which Parliament has said is aligned with the UNFCCC ‘landbased’ reporting framework, simplifies and adapts the current accounting methodology under the Kyoto Protocol.
This principle is known as the ‘no debit rule’ and must be respected over two five-year periods (2021- 2025 and 2026-2030).
The proposed regulation contains specific rules for afforestation and deforestation, managed cropland, managed grassland, managed wetland and managed forest land.
Member States would be allowed to exclude emissions from natural disturbances (such as forest fires or pest invasions) from their accounts and the briefing says that Member States would have certain flexibilities;
- They may accumulate net removals over the 10-year period.
- Excess removals may be transferred to other Member States.
In order to encourage afforestation and to account for the fact that the agricultural sector has limited potential for emissions reductions, the briefing paper said that Member States would be allowed to use removals from the LULUCF sector towards their obligations under the proposed Effort Sharing Regulation.
However, this amount is limited to 280m tonnes CO2 at EU level over the 2021-2030 period, in order not to discourage emission reductions in the sectors falling under the proposed Effort Sharing Regulation.
Under the regulation, Member States with a larger agricultural sector would have more flexibility.
According to the European Commission, the proposed regulation would provide Member States with a framework to incentivise more climate-friendly land use, without imposing new restrictions or administrative burdens on individual actors.
This would in turn encourage ‘climate-smart’ agricultural practices and highlight the climate benefits of forestry and wood products, it said.
What happens next?
The regulation is currently going through the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) where it has to make a decision on whether to back the regulation or not.
Irish MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan is a member of the committee and next week is holding an event in Brussels on LULUCF, where the regulation will be looked at in further detail.
There will be a range of speakers at the event, including Artur Runge-Metzger of the European Commission’s Climate Action section and Eddie Punch of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA).