Page 43 - Green knowledge 2024

Photo: Morten Günther
The European Green Deal and forests
The goal of the European Green Deal is a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. NIBIO has
examined how this major initiative will affect Norway’s forests.
The European Green Deal places great emphasis on
preserving environmental values and increasing for-
ests’ contributions to mitigate climate change.
“We will see impacts from the European Green Deal
across a range of areas. Examples include how we
account for carbon emissions and removals in the
forestry and land-use sector, sustainability criteria
for biomass extraction for energy, and criteria for
sustainable forest management in investments,” says
Knut Øistad at NIBIO.
Although Norway is not an EU member, it is part of
the EU’s internal market through the EEA Agree-
ment. Additionally, Norway has signed a bilateral
agreement with the EU regarding the implementa-
tion of the Paris Agreement climate targets. This
cooperation means EU climate legislation is also
Norwegian legislation.
Many rules stemming from the European Green Deal
are EEA-relevant and will become Norwegian law.
Others are not, but they may still influence policies
and consumer preferences in neighbouring areas.
Although the EU lacks a common forest policy, it is
focusing more on forests’ importance for energy, the
environment, and climate.
The Green Deal constitute a significant overall
impact on forest policy. It represents an ongoing
challenge of navigating horizontal changes across
multiple sectors simultaneously.
“The direction of the changes is clear: there will be
greater emphasis on preserving environmental
values and ensuring increased contributions from
forests in mitigating climate change,” says Øistad.
Purpose: To describe the development of EU’s policies relevant for forests and provide an overview of key
strategies and regulations stemming from the EU Green Deal that are relevant to Norwegian forest
policy and management.
Funding: EEA Committee Secretariat
Contact: Senior Adviser Knut Øistad, Division of Forest and Forest Resources.
Email: knut.oistad@nibio.no | Phone: +47 905 37 767
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