Rejuvenating forests and improving resilience

At the ThinkForest event in Brussels on 16 October 2024, experts gathered to explore how carbon farming could support the EU’s climate neutrality targets. According to Ana Rey and Tommaso Chiti, co-authors of the European Forest Institute’s (EFI) report, forest-based carbon farming includes practices like afforestation, agroforestry, and peatland restoration — all of which enhance carbon sequestration while promoting biodiversity and forest resilience.

Chiti emphasized the importance of adapting practices to regional conditions, noting trade-offs such as increased fire risk from longer rotation cycles in Mediterranean forests. One major challenge discussed was the difficulty of aligning the slow nature of forest carbon accumulation with short- and long-term climate targets, particularly when reliable systems for baseline measurement and verification are still in development.

Panelists highlighted the critical need for a robust and trustworthy certification framework to measure carbon gains and ensure additional benefits. Jurij Krajcic from DG Clima noted ongoing EU efforts to establish methodologies for carbon certification that also factor in ecological resilience. Examples like France’s “Label Carbone,” developed through stakeholder collaboration and now managed by the state, were praised for encouraging transparency and trust.

The conversation underscored that financing carbon farming will require joint support from EU funding, national resources, and private investors. Piotr Borkowski (EUSTAFOR) and Margherita Miceli (Cepi) stressed the importance of integrating carbon farming into broader economic strategies, including sustainable forest industry practices and risk management innovation.

For further information visit here: https://efi.int/news/carbon-farming-can-also-rejuvenate-forests-and-improve-resilience-2024-10-18