Address https://gelex.eu/eli/EU/regulation/2021/268@2020-10-28/en

Contents

1. Preamble
2. 1. Article 1
   2. Article 2
3. ANNEX
4. ANNEX

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry in the 2030 climate and energy framework, and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and Decision No 529/2013/EU, and in particular Article 8(8) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The Member States submitted national forestry accounting plans, including proposed forest reference levels for the period from 2021 to 2025, to the Commission.

(2) In accordance with Article 8(6) of Regulation (EU) 2018/841, the Commission undertook a technical assessment of the national forestry accounting plans submitted by the Member States with a view to assessing the extent to which the proposed forest reference levels were determined in accordance with the principles and requirements set out in paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 8 and in Article 5(1) of that Regulation.

(3) As required by Article 8(6) of Regulation (EU) 2018/841 and in line with the commitment undertaken during the negotiations of that Regulation, as laid down in the Statement on the involvement of experts addressed to the European Parliament, the Commission established on 30 October 2018 a Commission expert group (the expert group) tasked with assisting the Commission in carrying out the technical assessment. The expert group included, among others, experts appointed by the Member States and individuals appointed in their personal capacity, acting independently and in the public interest, representatives of the research and non-governmental organisations, and stakeholders.

(4) Based on the views of the expert group and the technical assessment, the Commission issued technical recommendations to the Member States, with a view to facilitating the technical revision of the proposed forest reference levels. The Commission published the technical recommendations on 18 June 2019.

(5) As required by Article 8(7) of Regulation (EU) 2018/841, based on the technical assessment and the technical recommendations, the Member States revised their national forestry accounting plans, and, in some cases, proposed forest reference levels, and communicated the information to the Commission. The Commission published the proposed and, where applicable, revised forest reference levels on 25 February 2020.

(6) The expert group agreed that the forest reference levels that the Commission proposes to include in Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2018/841, were determined in accordance with the principles and requirements set out in paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 8 and in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/841.

(7) The Commission should therefore lay down the forest reference levels to be applied by the Member States for the period from 2021 to 2025.

(8) This Regulation is in line with the opinion of the Commission expert group on Land use, land use change and forestry,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2018/841 is amended as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 28 October 2020. For the Commission The President Ursula von der Leyen

ANNEX

ANNEX

In Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2018/841, the following Section C is added:

C.

The forest reference levels to be applied by the Member States for the period from 2021 to 2025 Member State The forest reference level for the period from 2021 to 2025 in tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year Belgium – 1369009 Bulgaria – 5105986 Czech Republic – 6137189 Denmark + 354000 Germany – 34366906 Estonia – 1750000 Ireland + 112670 Greece – 2337640 Spain – 32833000 France – 55399290 Croatia – 4368000 Italy – 19656100 Cyprus – 155779 Latvia – 1709000 Lithuania – 5164640 Luxembourg – 426000 Hungary – 48000 Malta – 38 Netherlands – 1531397 Austria – 4533000 Poland – 28400000 Portugal – 11165000 Romania – 24068200 Slovenia – 3270200 Slovakia – 4827630 Finland – 29386695 Sweden – 38721000 United Kingdom – 20701550

Versions

1. 2020-10-28

Cited by

• Regulation (EU) 2023/857 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 April 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2018/842 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement, and Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 (Text with EEA relevance) Regulation · Grade B

  In addition to the EU ETS flexibility, it is possible for a limited quantity of net removals and net emissions from LULUCF to be taken into account for Member States’ compliance under Regulation (EU) 2018/842 (the LULUCF flexibility). In order to ensure that sufficient mitigation efforts are deployed up to 2030, it is appropriate to limit the use of the LULUCF flexibility by separating the use of the LULUCF flexibility into two separate time periods, each capped by a limit corresponding to half of the maximum amount of total net removals set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2018/842. It is

• P9_TA(2022)0310 New EU forest strategy for 2030 — Sustainable Forest Management in Europe European Parliament resolution of 13 September 2022 on a new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 — Sustainable Forest Management in Europe (2022/2016(INI)) 2023/C 125/02 Notice · Grade B

  having regard to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/268 of 28 October 2020 amending Annex IV to Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the forest reference levels to be applied by the Member States for the period 2021-2025,