This week the European Commission adopted the forest reference levels (FRLs) for each Member State to apply between 2021 and 2025. FRLs are benchmarks to calculate the sum of greenhouse gas removals and emissions from existing forests in each Member State.
CO2 removal from existing forestland is the backbone of the EU land use sink and these FRLs are part of the implementation of the LULUCF regulatory framework for 2021 - 2030. They are forward-looking benchmarks for accounting net emissions from the existing forests in each Member State. The reference levels concern managed forestland, which encompasses existing forests that undergo cycles of growth, harvest and regrowth, and forests under various protection schemes, including old growth and primary forests.
Read more about the process for setting FRLs and next steps involved in them becoming operational.
