Analyses of the use of the Norwegian forest sector in climate change mitigation

Abstract

The forest sector plays important roles in the global carbon cycle. Firstly, the global carbon cycle. Firstly, the global carbon storage in forest biomass and soil is of a considerable size, and the total carbon sequestration in the global forests more than offsets the emissions from deforestation and land degradation. Secondly, the forest sector seems to have potentials to further mitigate accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and reduce overall mitigation costs. In Norway, the forests sequester more than half of the human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, due to an increment that exceeds the harvests by a large margin. The sequestration rate is projected to decline as investments in forestry have decreased substantially, although the forests will be an important factor in the Norwegian greenhouse gas account also in the future.