Confederation of European Forest Owners

The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) recognises the opportunity to contribute to the review and simplification of the climate delegated act of the EU taxonomy, and acknowledging the current lack of uptake among forest owners, CEPF would like to emphasise the benefits and practicality of building on existing tools and processes already in use.

The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Call for Evidence on Renewable Energy Framework for the decade ahead. 1. Bioenergy: a strategic pillar of the energy transition and an enabler of sustainable forest management Bioenergy is the largest non-fossil energy source in the EU, central to sectors difficult to electrify including heating and certain industrial…

The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) acknowledges the opportunity to comment on the revised technical screening criteria of the EU taxonomy climate delegated act. In our feedback we will focus on the forest-related activities, particularly forest management. While the revision addresses some concerns, fundamental barriers remain.

CEPF welcomes the eighth environmental omnibus as a step to reduce compliance burdens while preserving environmental ambitions. European forest owners are natural allies in the green transition, but only if the regulatory framework supports rather than burdens them.

Amid the worst wildfire season ever recorded in the EU, it is undeniable that the impacts of climate change have started to unfold and continued investments in resilience prevention and preparedness are needed more than ever. Beyond wildfires, the rate, magnitude, frequency, and geographical location of climate-induced natural disasters happening in the EU is vastly expanding.

CEPF urges the Commission to carefully assess the implications of extending the do no significant harm (DNSH) principle to the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF) before proceeding. Our concerns are fundamental, not technical, and we trust the Commission will give them the weight they deserve.

The Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) fully support the general principle of increasing resilience of European forests. However, the real added value of this proposal and the actual means it offers for resilient of EU forest are tenuous. Forest data collection, as in this proposal and its provisions, is not a tool for achieving forest resilience.

CEPF key considerations: •A stable and long-term framework Any successful EU Framework on Forest Monitoring must build upon evidence-based science, existing reporting schemes, in particular national forest inventories (NFI), and the experience of Forest Focus. For long-term sustainability, a stable system is required, including durable guarantees for resources needed.

CEPF welcomes the opportunity to contribute the ongoing call for evidence around the role of forestry and forests in the EU climate policy framework beyond 2030. National targets and flexibilities set strong links with the ongoing evaluation of the LULUCF Regulation: the main component of the EU climate policy architecture setting the role of forests and forestry in climate change mitigation on the road to achieve…

European forest owners welcome the Commissions initiative to evaluate the LULUCF Regulation. Forest owners who manage approximately 60% of EU forests play a central role in contributing to the EU-wide climate change mitigation efforts.