Syke: Forest Carbon Sinks Have Been Overestimated, Logging Must Be Reduced

October 24, 2024 | Source: YLE News

Previous estimates of the capacity of Finland’s forests to absorb planet-warming emissions have been overly optimistic, the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) said on Thursday.

The institute’s latest research indicates that the nation’s forest carbon sinks have been overestimated.

In 2022, Finland’s land use and forestry (LULUCF) sector became a net source of emissions for the first time. That means that the carbon absorbed by forests was no longer enough to counterbalance emissions from farming and other land use. Last year the sector constituted a small net sink.

Syke calculates that the felling of forests must be reduced significantly in order for Finland to reach its stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. The sustainable amount of felling would be 60–62 million cubic metres per year.