Greenhouse gas emissions and removals in land and forests

The land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector can be considered a general sink because of carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestration of forests, largely due to afforestation in recent decades. In 2019, afforestation unit prices were increased and, as a result of the increased support, newly established forests have been planted on more than 23 000 ha since 2020. As a result of afforestation, the forest area has increased by 9.5 % (170 000 ha) since 2000. In 2022, more than 22 % of Hungary’s territory was covered by forest. The carbon sequestration per unit area of planted forests is significant due to the intensive growth of forests.

The net absorption of the LULUCF sector has been on the rise since 2000, from – 1.1 Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂eq) in 2000 to – 5.8 Mt CO₂eq in 2023. Hungary has set a target for greenhouse gas removals in the LULUCF sector, intending to reach – 5.724 Mt CO₂eq per year by 2030. In order to maintain and increase natural CO₂ sink capacities, the 2024 update to the national energy and climate plan, in line with Hungary’s national forest strategy, aims to further increase the proportion of forests and other areas covered by timber stock.