Leśne Prace Badawcze, 2010, 71, 4: 415-421.

Zmiany klimatu a ekosystemy leśne:  aktualna polityka klimatyczna
Climate change and forest ecosystems: current climate policy

Bożena Kornatowska, Małgorzata Smogorzewska

Abstract. Forest ecosystems offer a prospective means for reducing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. Forests, as well as forest products, play an important role in both reducing emissions and enhancing sinks. Forests are considered one of the remedies for global climate change because of their ability to sequestrate CO2 and substitute for fossil fuels and other materials that release CO2 during their production. However, climate change can influence forest species composition, forest tree ranges, and it can be detrimental to the general health of forest ecosystems by increasing forest vulnerability to diseases and pests.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol provide a political framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation at a global level. The European Union actively orientates its policy towards the protection of climate by introducing regulations on the reduction of CO2 emissions as well as the promotion of renewable energy sources and afforestation/reforestation activities. With the exception of the document ‘National climate policy’ (2003), Poland has not yet developed a unified governmental programme which would mobilise cooperation at a national political, economic and scientific level with respect to the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Key words: global warming, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol