European Council President Donald Tusk arrives at EU headquarters prior to an EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium, Dec. 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
The European Parliament and the European Council on Thursday reached a provisional agreement on accounting of emissions from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF).
According to an official news release, this would help implement the European Union's (EU) 2030 climate objectives which form part of the EU's policy to drive Europe's transition to a modern and clean economy.
The regulation on land use, land use change and forestry will incorporate greenhouse gas emissions and removals related to agricultural land and forestry into the EU's climate framework from 2021, said the release.
This provisional agreement must be formally approved by the Parliament and Council of Ministers. Following the approval, it will be published in the EU's Official Journal and enters into effect 20 days later, according to the release.
Land use and forestry include the use of soils, trees, plants, biomass and timber, which emits greenhouse gases but also serves to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
According to official figures, the EU forests absorb the equivalent of nearly 10 percent of the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions each year.
The proposal for LULUCF was presented by the European Commission on July 20, 2016 as part of the "Driving Europe's transition to a low-carbon economy" package, while the EU 2030 climate and energy framework was adopted at the October 2014 European Council, with the aim of reducing the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
