From Sink to Source

The potential sink capacity in the sector is intended to offset emissions in other sectors such as agriculture, where some emissions are unavoidable. The Climate Change Act stipulates that the net uptake by the sector LULUCF must amount to 25 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂ equivalents) on average during the years 2027 to 2030. The average net sequestration target for the years 2037 to 2040 is 35 million tons of CO₂ equivalents and for the years 2042 to 2045 it is 40 million tons.

The current development in the LULUCF sector is not in line with the climate targets. The targets for 2030 will be missed by a wide margin. In addition, there is still a lack of concrete implementation for some climate protection measures that have already been adopted in principle. Even with accelerated implementation, they would not be able to have a major impact by 2030, because many of the measures addressing land use and forests will only be successful in the very long term. In the LULUCF sector, the focus must be on measures with a long-term impact, but their implementation must be faster and on a larger scale than in the past.

• Rewetting peatlands is the most effective measure to avoid emissions: According to the target agreement on climate protection through peatland protection between federal government and German states and according to the peatland protection strategy, five million tons of CO₂ equivalent are to be avoided annually by 2030. The rewetting of peatlands is a complex and long-term task, but the potential is significantly higher than the five million tons of CO₂ equivalent envisaged to date.

• Significant amounts of CO₂ emissions can also be avoided by phasing out peat extraction and the use of peat in potting soils and growing media.

• Forests that have been damaged by drought and the resulting bark beetle infestation must be reforested quickly. Fast-growing, site-adapted tree species that are resilient to climate change should be used. In this way, the sink capacity of the forests can be improved or even restored in the long term.

• Where possible, additional areas should be afforested. A considerable amount of carbon from carbon dioxide can also be quickly sequestered by newly established hedges and other agroforestry.

• The potential for increasing wood product storage should be utilized, e.g., by implementing the timber construction initiative.