Finnish forests carbon sinks expected to increase in the future

At present the volume of carbon sequestered in Finnish forests is about 20 million equivalent tons of carbon dioxide. This quantity is expected to increase manifold, i.e. to about 70 million tons until 2050. This increase is mainly due to accelerating forest growth.

The quantity of carbon absorbed in Finnish forest increases rapidly, despite the reduction of forest area in Finland — i.e. about 10,000 hectares per year — that is mainly due to construction and to clearing arable land.

Professor Jussi Uusivuori from the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) says that the forest area would not decrease at its present rate if there were a price on forest climate services. He proposes a fee on forest clearing as an alternative method for preventing the reduction of forest land. Liability for payment would arise when forest area is converted for other purposes.

In his view the reduction of forest area in Finland will constitute a strain on the Finnish national economy if carbon sinks are linked to greenhouse gas emissions trading. If the reduction of forest area continues at the present rate, there will be emissions of almost 9 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2050.

If carbon sinks becomes an object of international trade, forest owners ought to be paid for sequestering carbon. Possible methods of compensation could be for example compensation for binding carbon and free emission rights for owners of forests mature for felling. Forest owners could sell their emission rights to instances, which emit carbon dioxide.