Africa's forests are now emitting more CO2 than they absorb
13 days ago
- #carbon emissions
- #deforestation
- #climate change
- African forests are now emitting more CO2 than they absorb, shifting from being a carbon sink to a carbon source.
- The Congo rainforest, Africa's largest, absorbs about 600 million tonnes of CO2 annually, but this is declining due to logging and mining.
- From 2011 to 2017, African forests lost 106 million tonnes of biomass yearly, equivalent to roughly 200 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
- Deforestation in the Congo is a major driver of this biomass loss, threatening global efforts to mitigate climate change.
- Satellite data used to estimate biomass may not accurately reflect carbon absorption in high-biomass or degraded forests.
- The study did not account for Congo's wet peatlands, which absorb CO2 and store 30 billion tonnes of ancient carbon.
- Unlike the Amazon, where deforestation has decreased, deforestation in the Congo is increasing due to slash-and-burn agriculture and illegal logging.
- Brazil's Tropical Forests Forever Facility aims to pay tropical countries $4 per hectare of standing forest, but funding is currently insufficient.
- Carbon credits, often found to be ineffective, may be less reliable than direct funding mechanisms like the Tropical Forests Forever Facility.