On 28 March, the Council adopted two regulations that will enable the EU to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The so-called ‘effort sharing regulation’ sets stronger emission reduction targets for member states to be achieved by 2030. The regulation on the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector will strengthen the sector’s contribution to the EU’s overall climate ambition for 2030.

The land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector covers the use of soils, trees, plants, biomass and timber, and is responsible for both emitting and absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. Emissions and absorptions generated by the LULUCF sector are taken into account in the EU’s overall 2030 target. Under the European Climate Law, the contribution of net removals to the 2030 Union climate target is limited to 225 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent to ensure that sufficient mitigation efforts are deployed in other sectors up to 2030.

The new regulation sets an overall EU-level objective of 310 Mt CO2 equivalent of net removals in the LULUCF sector in 2030.

For the period from 2026-2030, each member state will have a binding national target for 2030 for the increase of net greenhouse gas removals, which together will deliver the collective EU target of 310 Mt. In addition, each member state commits to achieving a sum of net greenhouse gas emissions and removals for the period from 2026 to 2029 (‘the budget 2026-2029’).

The regulation provides for flexibilities for the member states to help them reach their targets.

Next steps
This is the last step of the decision-making procedure. The regulations will be signed and published in the Official Journal before entering into force.

Learn more HERE.

Source: European Council