Page 159 - Research on Financial Development Mechanism and Path of Forestry Carbon Sequestration in Developing Countries under Double Carbon Targets

Chapter IV Forestry Carbon Sequestration Financial Practice

Chapter IV Forestry Carbon Sequestration

Financial Practice

Section 1 Practice of Forestry Carbon Sequestration

Finance in Developed Countries

1.1 EU Takes First Step towards Forestry Carbon Sequestra-
tion Market

Eurotiv reported on October 22, 2020 that the European Commission officially re-
leased the “2030 Climate Target Plan” on September 17. According to the plan, green-
house gas emissions in 2030 will be reduced by at least 55% from 1990 levels, and the
EU will maintain its global leadership in the area of climate change, while achieving
the “carbon neutral” target in 2050 in a more balanced way. Recently, Atul Langer
Mecger, head of the climate action department of the European Commission, in a spe-
cial report on “Forests and Climate Change” of the European Dynamic Network, in-
troduced the background of the formulation of the “2030 Climate Target Plan” and the
ways to achieve it, answered questions about the EU’s integration of forestry into the
carbon emission trading system and carbon sink standards, and stressed that it would
pay more attention to the role of forestry and agriculture in its actions to deal with cli-
mate change. Since 2013, European forest carbon sink capacity has been declining. Cli-
mate change has exacerbated droughts, diseases and insect pests, posing serious dam-
age to forests and land in Europe. At the same time, farmers (including forest farmers)
will choose other high-income business activities driven by interests, compared with
maintaining the carbon sink capacity of forests and soil. Therefore, it is necessary to
find new ways and means to encourage farmers and foresters to increase carbon sinks
in agriculture and forestry, and to address the adverse effects of climate change for re-
forestation that cannot adapt to future climate change.
The 2030 Climate Target Plan requires the EU and its member states to make ef-
forts in three aspects. First, all forest carbon sinks should be accounted for more accu-
rately. Not all forests are accounted for under the Kyoto Protocol. Therefore, the Euro-
pean Commission explicitly takes the accounting of forest carbon sinks as an important
action in the “2050 Long-term Climate Action Strategy” to achieve “carbon neutrality”

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