Africa's Forests Have Switched From Absorbing to Emitting Carbon
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Regulars are buzzing about a study revealing that Africa's forests have shifted from absorbing to emitting carbon, sparking a lively debate about the implications and nuances of this finding. Commenters riff on the article's wording, with some pointing out that it's not the forests themselves emitting carbon, but rather the loss of biomass due to deforestation and clearing that's driving the change. As discussants dissect the issue, they touch on related themes like population growth and the need for sustainable practices, with some arguing that education, financial security, and personal liberty are key to addressing the root causes of environmental degradation. The conversation feels particularly relevant right now as the world grapples with the escalating climate crisis and the urgent need for effective conservation strategies.
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Nov 28, 2025 at 5:45 AM EST
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If I read this correctly: No, forests are not suddenly emitting carbon. People are just felling enough trees and treating them badly enough, that their forests are now dying faster than they are regrowing
Whatever the reason might be, the point is that African forests have gone from absorbing more carbon than they release, to releasing more carbon than they absorb.
IOW, they have become net emitters as opposed to net absorbers.
You're right that the forests themselves are not emitting carbon. However, human deforestation is causing the sequestered carbon in the trees to be removed from the forest and that is also reducing the forest's ability to absorb carbon.
TFA
> their forests are now dying faster than they are regrowing
> ...driven by deforestation and forest degradation.
Due largely to deforestation caused by humans.
A search for "logging in congos protected forest" will reveal numerous articles on this:
> Despite the ban on new industrial logging, the DRC has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, losing 490,000 hectares (1.2m acres) of primary rainforest in 2020, according to Global Forest Watch.
By 2025, the population is estimated at roughly ~1.53 billion.
That means the continent has seen an increase of abou 450-500 million people over merely 15 years! (~44% increase!)
No wonder the forests are disappearing. Without strict birth control and population planning, things will continue to become worse.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314546723_Populatio...
PS: Projected population is over 2.5 billion by 2050!
Education, financial security, and personal liberty are actually proven to work… but they also result in economic gains for the state and increased QoL for the populace, so literally anything else I guess…
When numbers are being added at the rate of several hundred million in a decade, none of those can work and most especially when your religion is a major impediment.
How do you plan on "educating, providing financial security and personal liberty" for multi-billion people in Africa yearly ? The rest of the world is not going to sign up for that.
As opposed to... every _other_ nation state?
https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/energy-consumpt...
It's a one-time process. But so is forests absorbing CO2 as they grow bigger and denser, and we commonly consider that a carbon sink. Makes sense to do the same for the reverse
Shouldn’t this carbon be released when the tree eventually dies and decomposes? I’d expect it to be carbon neutral over its lifespan?