Greenhouse gas emissions and removals in land and forests

The overall trend in the LULUCF sector shows a slight (1.9%) decrease in total net emissions from 1990 to 2023, from 8 145 kt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂eq) in 1990 to 7 985 kt CO₂eq in 2023. Most of the emissions originate from drained wetlands, totalling 8 505.6 kt CO₂eq, with a smaller contribution from other land use categories. Managed wetlands represent a significant source of emissions, contributing 702.1 kt CO₂eq .

Forest land is 1.5% of the LULUCF land cover classes and is the only significant net removals category, amounting to 553.7 kt CO₂eq. In 2023, revegetated land accounted for 704.6 kt CO₂eq, and, in the same year, sequestration of carbon in wetlands accounted for the third largest sink, 410 kt CO₂eq.

GHG emissions from managed land are subject to a high level of uncertainty, but efforts are ongoing to improve the quality and accuracy of data, spatial and temporal, in estimating emissions from land .

The graph shows variability in the net emissions from land use from 1990 to 2023, though with a downward trend (i.e. a reduction of 1.9% from 1990 to 2023).