LULUCF: Harvested wood products must play a stronger role in Europe's climate strategy

During the EOS General Assembly, members received an update from Frida Sund Falkevik (DG CLIMA) on the future of the EU's Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) framework and the pathway towards the EU's 2040 climate target.

The presentation confirmed that carbon removals will remain essential for achieving Europe's climate neutrality objectives. While the forest carbon sink has continued to decline over recent years, the European Commission acknowledged that this trend is largely driven by external factors such as climate change, increasing natural disturbances and ageing forests, rather than forest management alone.

Looking ahead, the Commission stressed that the future LULUCF framework should not only strengthen forest resilience but also create better incentives for investment and sustainable land management. It also recognised the growing importance of sustainably produced biomass and biogenic carbon in replacing fossil-based materials across the European economy.

A particularly important message for the woodworking sector was the recognition of the role of long-lived harvested wood products. DG CLIMA encouraged the European woodworking industry to actively contribute ideas on how the climate benefits of harvested wood products could be better reflected within the LULUCF accounting framework. Among the options mentioned was the possibility of creating dedicated categories for engineered wood products, recognising their long-term carbon storage potential.

The discussion reinforced a key message for EOS: achieving Europe's climate objectives requires not only healthy and resilient forests, but also policies that recognise the contribution of wood products to long-term carbon storage and the circular bioeconomy.