Greenhouse gas emissions
MEPs vote to ensure full impact of land use emissions are accounted for in EU
The European Parliament today voted on draft legislation harmonising how greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural land and forests are accounted for in the EU. The Greens welcomed the vote, which would ensure this significant emissions source is properly accounted for in the EU's climate efforts. After the vote, Green climate change spokesperson Bas Eickhout (MEP, Netherlands) said:
"The question of how land use emissions are accounted is crucial for EU climate policy, as the greenhouse gases stored in land and forests represent around 10% of total EU emissions. It is important that efforts from other sectors are not undermined by a laissez-faire approach to emissions from land use and logging (or forest use).
"To this end, we welcome the support by the environment committee for provisions to ensure that crop- and grazing land management, as well as emissions from wetlands (all representing significant emissions), are included in the mandatory EU accounting. Member states would also be obliged to establish action plans in an attempt to improve their contribution to the overall climate effort. These proposals are long overdue and will help both ensure the coherence of EU climate policy internally but also in an international context, where the question of emissions from land use change is a major issue."
