1/8/2025–|Last update: 13:05 (Mecca time)
A new study warned that the damages caused to European forests as a result of increased cutting of trees, forest fires, droughts and pests reduce their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, which endangered the goals of the European Union for emissions.
The European Union has committed to reaching clear zero emissions by 2050. The goal includes expected that the forests will absorb hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions and store them in trees and soil, to compensate for pollution caused by industry.
But this assumption is now in doubt. The average annual amount of carbon dioxide, which is removed from the forests of Europe during the period from 2020 to 2022, was about a third less than it was from 2010 to 2014, according to a study conducted by scientists from the European Union’s joint research center.
In the following period for the year 2014, the forests absorbed about 332 million tons of carbon dioxide bonus annually, according to the research paper published in the journal “Nature”. Other recent data from the European Union countries indicate a greater decrease.
The report stated that “this trend, in addition to the decline in the ability of European forests to adapt to the climate, indicates that the goals of the climate set by the European Union, which depend on increasing carbon stock, may be at risk.”
The Land and Forests sector in Europe is currently about 6% of the annual global warming emissions of the union, which is 2% lower than the amount calculated by the European Union to achieve climate goals, and this gap is expected to expand by 2030.
Dependence on forests to achieve climate goals “is just optimistic thinking, forests can help, but it should not be determined as quantities to achieve a balance in carbon budgets.”
These results constitute a political headache for European Union governments, which negotiate a new climatic goal that is legally obligated by 2040, a goal that was designed to use forests to compensate for pollution that industries cannot eliminate.
Some warn that achieving this goal will not be possible. “What should we do when there are factors that we have, such as countries and governments, are adequate ability to control them, such as forest fires or dehydration?”
The research confirms that excessive cutting of forests and fires caused by climate change and drought, and the spread of pests are all factors that deplete carbon stock in European forests.
However, it indicates that some of these risks can be managed to reduce pieces or grow more types of trees, which may enhance the storage of carbon dioxide and help the forests tolerate extremist climatic conditions and pests.
