Forests play an important role in regulating the water balance, their evaporation slows down the overheating of their own and their environment. At the same time, they sequester carbon dioxide. In order for forestry to serve these social needs at a higher level than before, appropriate economic incentives are also needed. Carbon sequestration in forests can play a prominent role in this incentive: market instruments rewarding sequestration are developing rapidly, while forests can contribute cost-effectively to achieving the net-zero goals of the EU and Hungary. This is increasingly also a question of competitiveness: the greater and more sustainable the domestic and European carbon sink, the lower the cost of decarbonization for other actors in the economy.

However, financial recognition of carbon sequestration can also have a broader impact. If subsidies encourage forest management practices that simultaneously increase carbon sequestration and improve forest resilience and water retention, then carbon pricing can indirectly become an incentive for regional water management and climate adaptation.

But how can these natural advantages be turned into economic advantages within the current domestic and EU regulatory frameworks or by further developing them? Based on the research results of REKK, we will formulate proposals for this and discuss them with the participants of the event.

The language of the event is Hungarian. Find more information here.