MTK signs up to CLC climate initiative demanding ambitious international climate policy to meet 1.5 C target
MTK signs up to CLC climate initiative demanding ambitious international climate policy to meet 1.5 C target
Uutinen
MTK signs up to CLC climate initiative demanding ambitious international climate policy to meet 1.5 C target
18.03.2019
The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners MTK supports the climate initiative of the Climate Leadership Coalition (CLC) and Nordic partners. The initiative urges the EU to update its present climate targets to correspond to the Paris Agreement, so that greenhouse gas emissions would reach zero in terms of their net impacts by 2050.
To achieve net-zero emissions, offsetting greenhouse gases is required. Under the MTK's Climate Programme , greenhouse gas emissions must be ambitiously cut and carbon sequestration in vegetation and soil must be systematically improved. This permits the hope that global warming could be limited to 1.5 degrees, the programme states.
More and faster cuts in emissions are necessary in all sectors. As human activity always creates at least some emissions, carbon sequestration must also be more effective than at present.
"In this instance, land-using sectors, the growth of forests and field crops and carbon sequestration in the soil play a crucial role, which cannot be ignored in business operations," says Juha Marttila , President of MTK.
MTK believes that the crux of the CLC initiative is the emissions-balancing carbon sequestration and carbon-neutral bioeconomy, for which incentives must be found to resolve the global climate challenge. In fine-tuning and interim assessment of the targets for emission reduction, the calculation models of carbon absorption must be updated to correspond to the actual work done by plants, photosynthesis.
"Plants absorb and recycle carbon. This natural process cannot be underestimated, if we want to reach the target of 1.5 degrees," Marttila stresses.
In Finland, 150 million trees are planted every year, and forests are managed in a way that creates the conditions for growing carbon sinks. In agricultural carbon sequestration, too, progress can be made in leaps and bounds through methods like crop rotation by deep-rooting plants. This requires profitable agriculture and well-functioning markets.
"Our businesses need cost-effective and practical measures to improve carbon sequestration. More effective carbon sequestration requires productive fields and forests. Compensation for actual and verified measures must be available for both biomasses, carbon sequestration and sinks. This requires a reform and review of modelling and the pricing of carbon. The CLC initiative is in line with these goals of ours," MTK believes.
Further details and interview requests for Juha Marttila:
Klaus Hartikainen, Communications Director, MTK, tel. 040 169 2060
