Greenhouse gas emissions and removals in land and forests

Over 1990–2023, the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector was, on average, estimated to be a net sink. There is, however, considerable interannual variability, including some years for which LULUCF was a net emitter due to wildfires, which are largely driven by changes in weather patterns from year to year. For example, 2017 was particularly hard hit by fires, with a record high value of 558 kha of burnt area (6% of the country). The general trend is a reduction in sink capacity, related to increasingly strong and frequent extreme events causing significant uncertainty regarding the impacts of climate change on the sector.

However, it is estimated that with the introduction of additional measures it will be possible to achieve a sink capacity of 6 535 t of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in 2030. Although it is expected that there will be a decrease in the burnt area, a reduction in the volume of harvesting and the need to increase the area of forest, it should be noted that this projection reflects the most recent methodological revision of the national emissions inventory, which estimated the current sink capacity of the LULUCF sector as lower than the values considered in previous modelling exercises.