Climate reporting
Carbon stocks and pools
The five main carbon pools in forests are aboveground biomass, belowground biomass, deadwood, litter, and soil.
Forest carbon stocks 1990-2020, M t
Carbon pools forest in 2020, M t
The role of forests for climate change mitigation
Forests play a vital role in regulating carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere. Forests accumulate and store large amounts of carbon in the trees and in the soil as they remove CO2 from the atmosphere and emit greenhouse gases by harvest, decay, or disturbances.
Forests act as a carbon sink, when the uptake, or removal of carbon from the atmosphere, exceeds the amount of carbon released. Forests are considered sources when they emit more than they remove.
TOTAL EMISSIONS IN EU27 IN 2020
TOTAL EMISSIONS IN 2020
TOTAL FOREST CARBON STOCK IN EU27 IN 2020
CARBON STORED IN ABOVE-GROUND BIOMASS OF FORESTS IN 2020
LULUCF and emissions reporting
Countries annually report their emissions and removals in the national GHG inventories, including the LULUCF (Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry) sector.
Total greenhouse gas emissions 1990-2020, M t CO2-eq
LULUCF greenhouse gas emissions (+) and removals (-) since 1990, M t CO2-eq per year
Emissions and removals of CO2-eq from forest land, M t CO2-eq
Forests take up around 12% of the total country emissions.
Harvested wood products
Harvested wood products provide benefits to mitigate climate change impacts. Wood products store carbon for a long time. The use of wood products may substitute the use of more fossil energy-intensive materials such as steel and concrete.
Emissions and removals of CO2-eq from harvested wood products, M t CO2-eq
Harvested wood products are a CO2 sink.
FISE - Forest Information System for Europe is a forest knowledge base in support of the EU Forest Strategy.
