Carbon Dioxide Removal options in the National Long-term Strategies of EU Member States

The report finds that most EU Member States cannot reach climate neutrality through natural sinks alone, with only Spain, Finland, and Sweden projected to have sinks of the necessary magnitude by 2050. While forestry is the primary focus of natural removals, there is a significant lack of attention to sink stability and other land-use categories. Technological solutions are discussed, with a clear preference for Carbon Capture and Storage/Utilization (CCS/CCU) over Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) and Direct Air Capture (DAC), though distinctions between these technologies are often blurred in national strategies.

• Only three EU Member States—Spain, Finland, and Sweden—are projected to have natural carbon sinks of the magnitude required to reach climate neutrality by 2050 based on the 'EU Reference Scenario'.
• The EU's natural carbon sink has been decreasing over the last 30 years, with total LULUCF removals falling from -336 Mt CO2e in 2009 to -230 Mt CO2e in 2020.
• Most EU Member States are 'off track' for climate neutrality, requiring sequestration levels more than twice the size of their projected 2050 LULUCF sinks.
• National strategies focus overwhelmingly on forestry, while other land-use categories like cropland, settlements, and 'other land' are rarely discussed; wetlands and permanent grasslands receive the most attention among non-forest categories.
• Sink stability—the risk of sinks becoming emissive—is a critical gap in most LTSs, with only Austria and France addressing the issue.
• There is a strong preference for CCS/CCU over BECCS and DAC in national strategies, although many countries fail to clearly distinguish between these technologies.
• Direct Air Capture (DAC) is not viewed as a viable solution within the current timeframe of the national long-term strategies.
• Industrial processes, particularly cement production, are the primary targets for the deployment of CCS and CCU technologies.
• Almost all Member States plan to increase the use of bioresources, often prioritizing long-lived wooden products as carbon storage alternatives to carbon-intensive materials.
• Some countries exhibit conflicting goals between the expansion of bioresource use and the enhancement of natural carbon sinks, specifically Denmark and Italy.
• The LULUCF sector in Estonia and Latvia has recently transitioned from being a net sink to a net source of emissions, and these sinks are not expected to fully recover by 2050.
• Twelve countries included land planning and the reduction of land conversions in their LTS, with several targeting net zero land conversions by 2050.

APA

Walke, P., Tool, B., & Tamm, K. (2022). Carbon Dioxide Removal options in the National Long-term Strategies of EU Member States. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cdr-lts-assessment.pdf

Chicago

Walke, Peter, Brigita Tool, and Kaidi Tamm. Carbon Dioxide Removal options in the National Long-term Strategies of EU Member States. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cdr-lts-assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Walke |first1=Peter |last2=Tool |first2=Brigita |last3=Tamm |first3=Kaidi |title=Carbon Dioxide Removal options in the National Long-term Strategies of EU Member States |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=15 December 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cdr-lts-assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{walke2022carbon, author = {Walke, Peter and Tool, Brigita and Tamm, Kaidi}, title = {{Carbon Dioxide Removal options in the National Long-term Strategies of EU Member States}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cdr-lts-assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }