NSPA views on the EUs new Climate Package

In November 2021, the NSPA adopted a position on the EU Climate Package, highlighting the importace of a regional dimension which rewards already sustainable regions.

Please find the whole position paper here.

THE NSPA POSITION IN BRIEF

  • The NSPA welcomes the EU's new climate package and highlights the importance of
    considering the large regional variations within the EU when it comes to implementing
    it, especially in the fields of forestry and biodiversity.
  • The NSPA finds bioenergy and biofuels, as well as green hydrogen, vital to
    reduce emissions from transport and industry.

  • The NSPA points out that the balance between environmental, economic and social needs
    should be acknowledged in the sustainability objectives set by the Commission. So far,
    these objectives focus only on nature restoration, conservation and afforestation.

  • The NSPA emphasizes that regarding the Land use, land use change & forestry
    (LULUCF) regulation, the role of forests for climate change mitigation cannot be assessed
    based on narrow considerations of carbon flows within individual forest stands or over a
    short period of time. When assessing forest management practices impact on biodiversity,
    a landscape perspective over a longer time period should be applied.

  • The NSPA stresses the importance of a continuing consideration and improvement of
    forest management in a manner that benefits the biodiversity of the forest while utilizing
    the forest-based resources in correspondence with its net-growth.

  • The NSPA points out that while considering Renewable energy rules, the sustainability
    criteria should be kept as they stand in RED II. The Nordic active forestry, with an
    increased and sustainable use of forest biomass and forest-industry by-products, is
    necessary in order to reach the EU climate and energy goals.

  • The NSPA stresses that in order to ensure sustainable forest management in the future,
    the forest policy and decision making must stay on the member states level.

  • The NSPA emphasizes that the forest sector in northern sparsely populated areas affects
    the lives of locals in many ways, being a source of prosperity and business. The forest
    also has other vital values in terms of human recreation and outdoor life. The biological,
    economic and social values of the forest are crucial for a thriving countryside in Nordic
    countries.

 

Please find the whole position paper here.

18 Jan 2022