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Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet

SLU

SLU är ett universitet med samlad kunskap om ett hållbart nyttjande av de biologiska naturresurserna, inom miljö och inom livsvetenskaperna.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Tomas Tobé (Member of the European Parliament) and European Plant Science Organisation

26 Jun 2025 · Research Policy

Meeting with Alice Teodorescu Måwe (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Apr 2025 · Livsmedelsförsörjning

Meeting with Emma Wiesner (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Dec 2023 · Talare för Skogsmästarstudenterna

Meeting with Heléne Fritzon (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Sept 2023 · Möte med Mistra Food Futures vid SLU (APA level)

Meeting with Emma Wiesner (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Jun 2023 · Talare: Behöver svenskt skogsbruk ställa om, eller behöver EU ta ett steg tillbaka?

Meeting with Emma Wiesner (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Jun 2023 · Stenhammardagen

Response to Climate change mitigation and adaptation taxonomy

18 Dec 2020

The Faculty of Forest Sciences at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, is an academic body since 1978 conducting forestry education, research and environmental monitoring and assessment in collaboration with the society. Through our focus on the interaction between humans, animals and ecosystems and the responsible use of natural resources, we contribute to sustainable societal development and good living conditions on our planet. The faculty holds a strong position internationally, with by far the largest number of peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals within the field of forestry and forest science. Our research and education at several locations cover conditions from boreal forests in the north to temperate forests in the south. The successive increase in competence and expertise has contributed to double the productivity of the Swedish forests since the first national forest survey in 1923. Research has also led the way for the sustainable forestry model in Sweden to become acknowledged globally. SLU welcomes the EU taxonomy on sustainable economic activities as an important tool in order to enable financial flows that will support sustainable growth and transition to a carbon neutral economy. However, some suggestions in the taxonomy do not seem to acknowledge how forestry is being conducted sustainably in northern Europe. If the Taxonomy were to be implemented as suggested, it would have a large impact on social, economic and ecological aspects of forestry all over the EU. Since forestry and the forest-based industry together with agriculture and the agro-based industry are fundamental for the development of a truly circular bioeconomy for feedstocks, food, feed, fuels and products it is important that the Taxonomy does not hamper positive developments in these fields. The status of biomass should echo the consensus reflected in the adoption of the latest RES Directive. We thus call for the relevant alignment of the Delegated acts with the RED II, and also that the technical screening criteria are directly linked to the REDII, so that they would be automatically updated in case of developments of the sustainability criteria in RED II. Mentioning of carbon neutrality of forest biomass originating from sustainable forest management operations is missing. When trees are harvested, biogenic carbon stored in forest biomass is either stored in the resulting forest products (in the case of timber and pulpwood) or released during combustion for the production of energy (in the case of forest residues and most sawmill by-products). As the carbon stored in biomass has been absorbed from the atmosphere, the total cycle is carbon neutral. It seems that the single-stand perspective dominates in the Annexes, whereas sustainable forestry must apply a landscape perspective, i.e. an area with several stands. In a landscape there is a typically a balance between the annual harvesting and the annual growth. For example, in the case of Sweden as a nation, biomass in forests has more than doubled during the last century, at the same time as the forests have been managed for wood production. Biofuels - and, indeed, the use of biomass and bioenergy in general – should not be classified as a transitional activity. Sustainable use of biomass is needed and will play an important role in fulfilling the European Union’s objective of net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050, and beyond. Several Member States will be relying on significant greenhouse gas emission reductions through the use of biofuels in the transport sector when aiming for carbon-neutrality by 2050. Furthermore, biofuels are vital for reaching large enough GHG emission reductions fast, since they can be employed in existing vehicles and with existing infrastructure. Specific comments, concerns and recommendations for improvements on selected activities and technical screening criteria of the Commission draft of Taxonomy Delegated Acts in the attached file.
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