EUSTAFOR position paper: Too many uncertainties for forests in the EU carbon removals certification proposal
EUSTAFOR holds significant concerns regarding the placement of forests and forestry within the Commission proposal for EU carbon removals certification. The concerns expressed in EUSTAFOR position paper are elaborated around the following key three points:
- Unknown realistic potential and the added value of the new certification
- Unclear evaluation of carbon removals activities and deliverables
- High expectations entail high liability for land managers.
EUSTAFOR underlines that the ultimate goal of forest-related policies in the EU should be to promote sustainable and multifunctional management of forests, respecting all three pillars: environmental, economic, and social. Whether and how certain aspects of sustainable forest management, such as carbon removals, could be improved and could deliver more than today, should be first subject to sylvicultural research and serious impact assessments leading into well-informed policy decisions. Only then, certification systems can be considered as facultative instruments of a voluntary status.
Published 11/10/2023