Land use for the production of biobased products influence the national greenhouse gas balance: the increase in CO2 storage capacity as well as the maintenance and expansion of the CO2 mitigation potential of the forests relieve the atmosphere by considerable amounts of CO2. This also applies to the energetic and, in particular, the material use of wood and other renewable raw materials, which replace fossil fuels.
In addition, greenhouse gas emissions are avoided through the use of biomass from the agricultural sector for bioenergy and raw material use. On the other hand, large quantities of greenhouse gases are also emitted during agricultural production and global deforestation. The function of soils, forests, bogs, grassland and timber products, to store carbon in the long term or to replace fossil raw materials is therefore to be maintained and expanded, taking into account further objectives such as food security and the conservation of biodiversity. The greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture must be kept as low as possible. At the same time, however, agriculture and forestry are also affected by climate change.
Measures to adapt to climate change are necessary not only for reasons of safeguarding agricultural production and forest ecosystems, but also for maintaining and improving the positive effects of forests on climate protection.