Amid mounting concerns surrounding climate mitigation in the agriculture and forestry sectors, science-based evidence suggests a need for more effective, fair and coherent policy frameworks for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and further afield.
International policies to protect the environment are at a crossroads: bold targets coexist with fragmented priorities, threatening the agenda. The debate is often dominated by the least effective measures, while high-impact solutions struggle to gain space and resources. Funding streams show only a faint prioritisation of green objectives, eroding the consistency of environmental action. These dynamics become especially evident in sectors where emissions are high and policies are numerous, yet strategic alignment and assessment remain scarce.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector, responsible for over 20% of global emissions, continues to fall through the cracks of climate policy. In the European Union, it is often described as “the missing piece in climate policy.” Yet, it continues to be regulated with several national and local initiatives, while suffering from weak coordination at the macro level (e.g. EU, multilateral agreements).
