The bloc’s forest carbon sink is in decline due to climate impacts such as wildfires but also over-harvesting of wood. As the bloc’s climate targets rely in part on this absorption capacity, many governments worry that industry and households will have to cut emissions faster to make up for the shortfall.
The new clause is a response to a French proposal issued this week suggesting that the EU shave 3 percentage points off the planned 2040 goal if both natural sinks and carbon removal technologies fail to deliver the expected reductions.
The draft text circulated on Sunday by Denmark, which chairs the discussions, does not go quite as far, referring only to natural sinks and avoiding giving a specific figure.
“If the Commission finds that the estimated level of net natural removals for 2040 is significantly diverging from what would be required to achieve the 2040 intermediate target … the Commission shall propose … if necessary an adjustment of the 2040 intermediate target corresponding to and within the limits of the possible shortfalls,” the draft reads.