Agroforestry carbon-farming for climate mitigation

EURAF Policy Briefing #26 v4 discusses how expanding agroforestry and “Trees outside Forests” (ToF) can help the EU meet its 2040 and 2050 climate targets. The revised Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation established a collective target to sequester -310 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030.  However, achieving this will be challenging due to declining national removals. anomalous targets and different methodologies between member states. The report recommends policy revisions, including decoupling gross emissions reductions from removals and integrating land-sector accounting with upcoming CRCF voluntary carbon removals.  Crucially, the authors highlight that the vast majority (84.5%) of non-irrigated arable land in Europe has zero tree cover, representing massive potential for agroforestry carbon farming. A sustained program planting one million hectares of agroforestry annually could capture around 192 Mt CO2 per year by 2050, significantly aiding Europe’s climate neutrality target.