Climate panel chair: New emissions plan urgently needed due to loss of forest carbon sinks | News
Finland’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2035 is questionable due to the disappearance of carbon sinks in forests, says the director of the climate panel.
Markku OllikainenThe chairman of the climate panel warns that the government’s commitment to making Finland carbon-neutral by 2035 is slipping out of reach.
This follows last month’s news that, for the first time in history, Finland’s entire land use and forestry sector (officially known as LULUCF) has become a source of net emissions.
Ollikainen, Research Director at the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Helsinki, demands urgent action from the Board.
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Central Left Government led by the Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) has failed in land use policy, he told Yle on Friday.
A warning story to the rest of Europe
According to Ollikainen, the situation in Finland is a good example for the rest of Europe of what happens if the land use sector – mainly agriculture and forestry – does not take climate action seriously.
“The government must take steps to strengthen carbon sinks,” Ollikainen said.
The forest industry must also look closely in the mirror, he said.
“It would be more than desirable for the forest industry to voluntarily consider ways to increase the efficiency of carbon sinks,” Ollikainen said. He urges forest owners to refrain from logging if there is no immediate need for it.
Established in 2012, the 15-member Climate Panel is an expert body appointed by the government to make policy recommendations.
Kurvinen opposes a reassessment of the plan
Following the news, the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) and the climate panel are calling for a thorough overhaul of the forest and land use climate plan.
This means that the carbon sink formed by Finnish forests is no longer enough to absorb, for example, carbon dioxide emissions from peat harvesting and deforestation.
Peat harvesting has declined significantly due to its large emissions, but a return to its energy use has been required due to a sharp drop in energy imports from Russia.
The climate plan for the land use sector is one of the three main parts of the center-left government’s plan to make Finland carbon-neutral over the next 13 years.
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Antti Kurvinen The center party, which has close ties to agriculture and the forest industry, has said it will not reconsider the plan, despite new data on the collapse of the carbon sink.
Last week, the Natural Resources Institute (Luke) under his ministry said the felling exceeds a sustainable level in many parts of Finland.