Decision No 529/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 lays down accounting rules on greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from activities relating to land use, land-use change and forestry (“LULUCF”) as the first step to an eventual inclusion of these activities in the Union's commitment to reduce emissions. It also provides for the obligation of the Member States to provide compulsory information concerning their actions in the LULUCF sector to limit or reduce emissions and to maintain or increase removals.
According to the Decision, the land use, land-use change and forestry (“LULUCF”) sector in the Union is a net sink that removes from the atmosphere an amount of greenhouse gases that is equivalent to a significant share of total Union emissions of greenhouse gases.
LULUCF activities cause anthropogenic emissions and removals of greenhouse gases as a consequence of changes in the quantity of carbon stored in vegetation and soils, as well as emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases. The increased sustainable use of harvested wood products can substantially limit emissions into and enhance removals of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Emissions and removals of greenhouse gases resulting from the LULUCF sector are not counted towards the Union’s 20% greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2020 pursuant to Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020, and Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community, though they count in part towards the Union’s quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”), approved by Council Decision 2002/358/EC.