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Bioeconomy and Climate change

Discover how the forest-based bioeconomy can contribute to mitigating climate change through carbon storage and material substitution!

  • Topic / Tool | Last updated: 22 Apr 2026
Bioeconomy Knowledge Centre

Brief me

The role of the forest-based bioeconomy in mitigating climate change through carbon storage and material substitution (2021).

  • Forest-based bioeconomy contributes to climate change mitigation in different ways: through the carbon sequestered by forests and the carbon stored in products made of wood, as well as by using wood to substitute fossil fuels and other, more carbon-intensive, materials.
  • Forests and harvested wood products together, currently sequester the equivalent of circa 10% of EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. However, the carbon sink of forests is declining due to many factors: increasing harvests, decreasing forest growth, and increasing occurrence and severity of natural disturbances.
  • Reversing this trend requires sustainable forest management practices and afforestation that ensure forest resilience. A shift towards greater use of wood products with longer service lives and substitution benefits can also increase the climate change mitigation benefit.
  • A “system-perspective” analysis helps to understand the trade-offs and synergies amongst the different options and optimise the contribution of the forest-based bioeconomy to Europe’s climate goals.

Find out more in the brief and explore further other resources!

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