LIFE LULUCF ATLAS

Under the EU Climate Law, the European strategy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Central to this effort is the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) sector, which includes forests, cropland, grassland, wetlands, and settlements, as well as changes in land use such as afforestation and deforestation. The LULUCF sector acts as a significant carbon sink, offsetting about 7% of the EU’s emissions from other sectors, and is subject to quantified national targets to help reach an EU-wide goal of -310 Mt CO₂e of net removals by 2030.

The mitigation potential of forests and natural ecosystems, especially through reducing deforestation, increasing carbon sequestration in agriculture, and restoring ecosystems is crucial. Coastal Blue Carbon Ecosystems, such as seagrass meadows and mangroves, are also important for their effectiveness in sequestering carbon and supporting climate adaptation. The revised EU regulations 2018/841 and 2018/1999, amended by 2023/839, aim to improve governance at national and EU level, by enhancing the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of emissions and removals, and to foster synergies between climate mitigation and environmental protection.

The LIFE LULUCF ATLAS aims to develop methodologies and tools to enhance the capacities of public and private actors and improve governance in the LULUCF sector, thus contributing to the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality objective.