#2491Environmental ScienceFront Page12 November 2025
Earth's Carbon Sponges Are Faltering, New Analysis Reveals
A major reassessment of the planet's carbon budget reveals a worrying trend: natural land 'sinks' that absorb CO₂ are substantially smaller than previously estimated. At the same time, emissions from land-use changes like deforestation are higher, turning some tropical forests from carbon absorbers into carbon emitters. This new understanding highlights the reduced efficiency of our planet's natural defences against rising emissions.
By Friedlingstein, Le Quéré, O’Sullivan, Hauck, Landschützer, Luijkx, Li, van der Woude, Schwingshackl, Pongratz, Regnier, Andrew, Bakker, Canadell, Ciais, Gasser, Jones, Lan, Morgan, Olsen, Peters, Peters, Sitch, Tian
