The European Commission has claimed its updates to greenhouse gas accounting rules for forestry and agriculture represent a more accurate measure of the emissions released and stored by these two industries.  

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Forests and agricultural lands cover more than three-quarters of the EU landscape and naturally store large stocks of carbon, however, many common practices release carbon and other gasses into the atmosphere so the EU said monitoring the emissions stored and released is the first step towards creating a greener Europe. Increasing sequestered carbon by just 0.1 per cent through better management practices would remove the equivalent annual emissions of 100 million cars from the atmosphere.

Currently in the proposal stage, the rules will establish accounting for emissions and sequestration by the two sectors, which are the last major industries that have yet to be brought into the EU climate policy.

The EU decision was made following a December 2011 ruling by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on revised accounting rules from soils and forests. The commission said that, in response to the UN decision, it is determined to roll out common accounting in its climate policy.

As well as looking closer at the balance of greenhouse gasses stored and released, the new accounting system may provide new opportunities for farmers and foresters, according to Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard. One such possibility is rewards for farmers who work to minimise the effects of climate change delivered through the Common Agricultural Policy.

The commission hopes that, not only will its accounting framework increase awareness of future impacts of climate change related to agriculture and forestry, but also supply the bloc with the tools and information needed to adapt to or mitigate the changes without impacting too heavily on the sectors’ productivity and still protecting biodiversity.

Speaking on the commission’s proposals yesterday, Commissioner Hedegaard said, "What we propose today is harmonised rules to account for forests and agricultures emissions. This is the first step to incorporate these sectors into the EU's reduction efforts. In Durban all countries agreed to revised accounting rules for these sectors. The EU is now delivering with this proposal. The proposal will also contribute to protect biodiversity and water resources, support rural development and have a more climate-friendly agriculture."

The proposals will now go before the European Parliament and the Council. If passed in its current state, the proposals would also see member states forming action plans to demonstrate ways in which they will increase carbon storage and reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses.  

Although the proposals do not currently contain any targets, the Commission yesterday said that these could follow if a ‘harmonised’ approach to accounting proves to be successful and after enough information had been gathered from monitoring and reporting. This preliminary stage in emissions accounting is part of the EU’s commitments under the Kyoto protocol, but by including grasslands and arable cropland in its remit, the EU said it hopes to go further to create better understanding and implement more effective environmental measures.

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