Minnesota GHG Emissions Inventory Highlights Forests' Role as Carbon Sink

MFRC

Minnesota’s biennial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction report was released in January, tracking progress toward the state’s goals to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The report provides assessments of GHG emission trends for the state’s eight economic sectors from 2005 to 2022.

This report is the first to show emissions from Minnesota’s land use, land-use change, and forestry sector (LULUCF) separately from agriculture to better align with the Environmental Protection Agency’s GHG calculations and provide greater insights. The report states that the LULUCF sector sequestered more GHGs than it emitted, “offsetting 8.4% of all other emissions in the state.” Forest vegetation growth offset 21.5 million metric tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions from other sources (greater than 15% of total statewide CO2-equivalent emissions).

As climate change continues to have a profound impact on Minnesotans, the state is investing in climate initiatives and making updates to the Climate Action Framework to guide actions to achieve a carbon-neutral future. The MFRC is engaged in supporting these efforts, submitting information and recommendations to the Environmental Quality Board regarding opportunities to strengthen forests’ contributions to climate action goals. The recommendations are grounded in forest carbon research funded by the MFRC and include support for maintaining and sustainably managing Minnesota’s 17.7 million acres of diverse forests, accelerating tree planting and reforestation efforts, and using wood-based products instead of higher carbon-emitting alternatives.