New report on carbon farming in the European forestry sector

Forest management in Europe requires a long-term, sustainable approach, moving beyond the current focus on short-term profit gains.  A new EFI  report launched today details how carbon farming - a set of agricultural practices that help capture and store carbon dioxide in soil and plants - can be best managed to maximise its climate potential and mitigate against the growing risk of wildfires. 

The report ‘Carbon Farming in The European Forestry Sector’ shows how EU’s forests, covering 40% of the continent, can increase their capacity as long-term carbon sinks and help the bloc meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.  

This is reliant on one key factor: ditching short-term profit practices. With almost half of Europe’s forests under private ownership, forest owners need to be better incentivised to prioritise their long-term management. Introducing some form of temporal carbon credits – which account for the temporary nature of carbon storage in natural ecosystems and are remeasured every year – could provide owners with the capital to move away from practices that deliver quick finance gains but degrade the environment, such as logging or land clearing.  

Prof. Tommaso Chiti, University of Tuscia said: “Temporal carbon credits seek to address the problem sometimes faced by nature-based solutions, in that their carbon storage is not permanent, by offering carbon credits for one year of carbon storage. Rather than single upfront payments, the flexibility and reoccurrence of temporal carbon credits ensures that the credit accurately accounts for the amount of carbon sequestered, increasing trust and transparency among carbon market buyers.” 

The report also suggests that temporal carbon credit credits should be used as a financial contribution to climate action rather than as an offsetting measure. The report recommends the expansion of geospatial monitoring and third-party verification to ensure that carbon credits generated by carbon farming projects genuinely reflect their climate benefits. 

The report also finds that replanting and regenerating forests – afforestation – is the most effective method to store more carbon on a long-term basis. Diversifying tree types, extending harvest periods, agroforestry, and wetland management are also labelled as important methods in reversing the effects of unsustainable land use practices, which have degraded more than 60-70% of European soils. 

Dr Ana Rey, Spanish Scientific Council said: “Forests are the best natural CO₂ removal technology we have on offer, but they are increasingly threatened by wildfires, droughts and storms as we battle climate change. Currently, most of Europe’s forests are managed for wood production with carbon sequestration gains as an add-on short-term profit gain, rather than playing the long-term health and resilience game. But it should be the utmost priority for forests to fulfil their capability to be biodiversity preservers, vital water stores and improve air quality for people.” 

In order for the EU to unlock the full potential of its forests to sequester carbon and mitigate climate risks, the report calls on policymakers to revisit frameworks for effective carbon farming measures. While the EU promotes the use of wood for construction and energy, several national governments are funding measures to reduce wood harvests. Aligning policies to ensure resilience against climate threats will help the EU achieve climate neutrality by 2050. 

Download the EFI report on carbon farming in the European forestry sector. 

Source: European Forest Institute, press release, 2024-10-16.