European forests, which have served as a natural shield against climate change for decades, are increasingly becoming a source of carbon emissions instead of absorbing them. Extreme weather, pests and excessive logging are threatening efforts to achieve net zero emissions, writes UNN with reference to NewScientist.
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European forests, which cover almost 40% of the continent, have found themselves at the center of the climate crisis, the publication notes. Weather anomalies, the spread of pests and uncontrolled logging of trees are causing an alarming trend instead of absorbing carbon, forests are beginning to emit it, the publication says.
This unexpected turn of events is causing serious concern among scientists and climate analysts. According to Glen Peters of the CICERO Center for International Climate Research (Norway), "many countries (of the European Union) will not achieve their land use and climate goals due to this decline in the absorber."
As reported, the situation is already critical in some countries. For example, in January of this year, Finland officially признала, that her forests had transformed from carbon absorbers into a source of emissions.
A similar statement was made by Germany - for the first time in the country's history. In the Czech Republic, this problem has existed since 2018.
Even where forests formally remain absorbers, carbon uptake is rapidly declining.
Thus, in France, forest CO₂ absorption has almost halved in 14 years: from 74.1 million tons in 2008 to 37.8 million in 2022. A similar dynamic is in Norway - from 32 million tons in 2010 to 18 million tons in 2022
These changes, the publication emphasizes, undermine one of the main pillars of the EU's climate policy - the ability of natural ecosystems to curb global warming.
If the trend continues, the chances of achieving net zero emissions in the coming decades will be significantly reduced.
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