Posted on October, 14 2025

The NGOs letter stresses how the prioritisation of the short-term interests of a single sector, over long-term societal health and resilience, ultimately undermines the long-term economic resilience of Nordic forestry.  The LULUCF framework is essential for ensuring that forests act as carbon sinks and for meeting Europe’s 2040 climate target. Weakening it would fundamentally shake confidence in the EU’s climate architecture and threaten progress that many other sectors have invested in.  

A vibrant European forestry sector that serves people, biodiversity, and the climate is possible, but only through a shift towards more sustainable and biodiversity-friendly forest management. Science shows that maintaining and increasing forest carbon stocks delivers greater climate benefits than burning wood for energy and using it for material use, yet current practices continue to deplete carbon sinks and harm ecosystems. Clear-cutting and high harvest levels in Sweden and Finland have already decimated carbon storage and biodiversity, contradicting claims of sustainability of their forest industries. 

Europe’s forest policy must remain science-led and guided by public interest, not by vested interests. The EU should strengthen, not weaken, LULUCF implementation, and support a transition towards more diverse, resilient forestry models that protect nature, secure climate goals, and sustain rural livelihoods.