Climate Politics
Climate Fight Breaks Out in Sweden Over Carbon Payments to Forest Owners
Initiative fuels a wider debate on whether trees are worth more standing than cut
A cottage in the woods outside Boden.
Photographer: Erika Gerdemark/BloombergA climate fight has broken out in Sweden, pitting those who think forest owners should be paid for harvesting timber against lawmakers who want to fork out cash to keep the trees standing.
At the heart of the dispute are ambitious targets set by the European Union for removing carbon from the atmosphere to combat climate change. A proposal floated in Sweden, home to the bloc’s largest forest area, has the state offering landowners cash for the carbon sequestered if they agree to delay cutting down their trees for at least five years above the minimum harvest age.