Climate-protecting carbon sinks of EU forests are declining

Climate-protecting carbon sinks of EU forests are declining

Forests cover about 40% of the EU's land area. Between 1990 and 2022, they absorbed around 10% of the continent's man-made carbon emissions. However, the carbon dioxide absorption capacity of forests, also known as carbon sinks, is becoming increasingly weaker.

Europe’s forest carbon sink is shrinking

Forests have always been one of Europe’s most critical natural allies in the fight against climate change, covering about 40% of the European Union’s land and absorbing roughly 10% of the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions from human activity between 1990 and 2022 New research is now showing that this key carbon sink is weakening, and the decline is accelerating. A recent study published in Nature, led by the European Commission’s Joint Research Ce…