Land use and forestry proposal for 2021-2030

[Seth Itzkan]

Hi Everyone, This is important. Land use for carbon *drawdown* will be
officially integrated into IPCC framework starting in 2021 (as I
understand it).

Land use and forestry proposal for 2021-2030
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/forests/lulucf_en

On 20 July 2016 the European Commission presented a legislative
proposal to integrate greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land
use, land use-change and forestry (LULUCF) into the 2030 climate and
energy framework . The proposal follows the agreement with EU leaders
in October 2014 that all sectors should contribute to the EU's 2030
emission reduction target, including the land use sector. It is also
in line with the Paris Agreement, which points out to the critical
role of the land use sector in reaching our long-term climate
mitigation objectives.

EU's Commitment

The proposal sets a binding commitment for each Member State to ensure
that accounted emissions from land use are entirely compensated by an
equivalent removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere through action in the
sector, what is known as the "no debit rule." Although Member States
undertook this commitment under the Kyoto Protocol up to 2020, the
proposal enshrines the commitment in EU law for the period 2021-2030.

The new rules will provide Member States with a framework to
incentivise more climate-friendly land use, without imposing new
restrictions or red tape on individual actors. This will help farmers
to develop climate-smart agriculture practices and support foresters
through greater visibility for the climate benefits of wood products
which can store carbon sequestered from the atmosphere.

Biomass

Emissions of biomass used in energy will be recorded and counted
towards each Member State's 2030 climate commitments. This addresses
the broad criticism that emissions from biomass in energy production
are not currently accounted for under EU law. As forest management is
the main source of biomass for energy and wood production, more robust
accounting rules and governance for forest management will provide a
solid basis for Europe's future post-2020 renewables policy.

The Commission's proposal simplifies and upgrades the current
accounting methodology under the Kyoto Protocol, and establishes a new
EU governance process for monitoring how Member States calculate
emissions and removals from actions in their forests and agricultural
land use.

https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/forests/lulucf_en

--
Seth J. Itzkan

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