Greenhouse gas emissions and removals in land and forests

The carbon sink capacity of the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector in Estonia is influenced by the age and physical characteristics of forests, the forestry and agriculture practices used, the area of drained organic soils and the production of horticultural peat and wood products. Forest land covers more than half of the Estonian land territory and has a significant impact on the LULUCF sector’s greenhouse gas (GHG) trends. The level of carbon sequestered by forests has decreased in recent years due to the high share of mature and near-mature forest stands and the increasing proportion of forest area belonging to the first development classes, resulting from increased felling volumes. The conversion of other land categories to forest land has also declined.

The Estonian target under the LULUCF Regulation is to increase net removals by an additional 434 kt CO₂ eq by 2030, as compared to the yearly average over the period 2016–2018. In 2023, LULUCF sector net emissions were 2 130.8 kt CO₂eq, and the current goal for 2030 is to reduce net emissions to 1 729 kt CO₂eq, but that is likely to change in the coming years due to changes in the methodology applied in compiling the inventory. Estonia plans to achieve its LULUCF targets through changes in forestry practices and afforestation, the management of organic soils, a reduction in peat industry emissions and an increase in timber valorisation volumes.