Dynamics of the land use, land use change, and forestry sink in the European Union: the impacts of energy and climate targets for 2030

Abstract

A 2030 climate and energy policy framework was endorsed by the European Council in 2014. The main elements are a binding 40 % greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target compared to 1990, a renewable energy share of 27 %, and an energy savings target of at least 27 % by 2030. In this paper, we assess the impact of these targets on the European land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector using a Europe focused global land use model linked with a detailed forest management model. We show that implementing a 40 % GHG emission reduction target by 2030 may only have a small negative impact on the domestic LULUCF sink if the additional biomass demand for energy is mostly met through ligno-cellulosic energy crops rather than forest removals. However, if the increased biomass demand were met through higher rates of forest harvest removals, a more negative impact on the LULUCF sink could be expected.

Investigation of the potential impact of the Paris Agreement on national mitigation policies and the risk of carbon leakage; an analysis of the Irish bioenergy industry

“…As mentioned previously, efforts in the EU have centred around the Renewable Energy Directive. These targets could potentially trigger direct and indirect effects both within and outside Europe via international trade (Frank et al, 2016), as the EU bioenergy demand will not be covered by domestic production alone (Don et al, 2012). For example, biofuel imports to the EU have grown substantially in the past few years to meet demand for biofuels in transportation; biodiesel is imported from Argentina (soy bean biodiesel) and Indonesia and Malaysia (palm oil biodiesel), with sugar can ethanol imported from Brazil and other Latin American countries (Di Lucia et al, 2012).…”

International regulation of the restriction of the use of environment

“…The EU energy law is certainly one of the key legal means of implementation of policy of the EU energy security. As a matter of fact, the nature of this right derived from politics is determined by the general views on the international, or national, right to a contract law, enshrining the coordinated will of individual states, as well as by the dynamics of forming of the EU energy legislation, which reflects dynamics of approaches of European countries to the problems of energy security [1]. In the definition of the notion "energy law", the concept of regulation of relations connected with energy resources is popular [2].…”

Outlook of the European forest-based sector: forest growth, harvest demand, wood-product markets, and forest carbon dynamics implications

“…Several studies have assessed the impact of an increased use of wood for energy on the forest-based sector, mainly with a regional focus (Ince et al 2012 for USA, UN 2011 for Europe, and Lauri et al 2012, Moiseyev et al 2014, European Commission 2016a, and Frank et al 2016 for the EU), but some also with a global scope (Raunikar et al 2010, Buongiorno et al 2011, Johnston & Van Kooten 2016, Jonsson & Rinaldi 2017. Buongiorno et al (2011), Ince et al (2012), Lauri et al (2012), Moiseyev et al (2014), Forsell et al (2016), Johnston & Van Kooten (2016), and Jonsson & Rinaldi (2017) focus on economic implications. UN (2011) mainly addresses impacts on forest resources, while European Commission (2016a) and Frank et al (2016) emphasize consequences in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) flows.…”

“…UN (2011) mainly addresses impacts on forest resources, while European Commission (2016a) and Frank et al (2016) emphasize consequences in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) flows. Apart from Johnston & Van Kooten (2016), Forsell et al (2016) and Jonsson & Rinaldi (2017), all these studies consider broad, generic, categories of energy wood, thereby failing to account for the intricate interlinkages between wood pellets and woodbased products markets. Further, only consider EU imports of wood pellets, thereby not fully assessing synergies and competition between wood pellets and wood-based products markets.…”