Which EU Country Contributes Most to GHG Emissions in the LULUCF Sector Relative to Population and GDP?

• Published in: Environmental and Climate Technologies Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 527 - 539
• Main Authors: Kostevica, Valerija, Blumberga, Dagnija
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Riga Sciendo 01-01-2024; Riga Technical University
• Subjects: Air pollutants; Air pollution; Bark; Carbon dioxide; Carbon sequestration; Climate change; Data analysis; Economic growth; Economics; Emissions; Emissions control; Forest management; Forestry; GDP; GHG; Greenhouse gases; Gross Domestic Product; Land use; Land use management; land-use change and forestry; national inventory reports; Natural disasters; Neutrality; Per capita; Pest outbreaks; Pollutants; Population studies; Social interactions; Trends; Wood
• ISSN: 2255-8837; 1691-5208; 2255-8837
• DOI: 10.2478/rtuect-2024-0041

In pursuit of climate neutrality, EU nations must collectively address the problem of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollutants, which necessitates equitable economic strategies. However, the heterogeneous economic, social, and geographical profiles present hurdles in enacting a cohesive policy framework and realizing shared goals. Land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector play a crucial role in achieving the EU 2050 climate neutrality goal, as LULUCF is both a source and a sink for GHG emissions, it provides products like wood and biomass that help to reduce emissions in other sectors. This paper aims to compare GHG emissions of different EU countries by using targeted indicators related to per capita and to GDP per capita to enhance the analysis. The results reveal substantial differences in emissions in relation to population and GDP per capita between selected EU countries, even among countries with similar profiles, such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Notably, countries with lower GDP per capita and smaller population tend to have higher emission values, suggesting less efficiency in managing land use and forestry. The study highlights the need for multi-year data analysis to identify trends in emissions and removals within the LULUCF sector, considering the impacts of natural disasters and economic activities such as bark beetle outbreak or wood harvesting.