Study finds forests in Africa releasing more carbon than they store

A new study has found that Africa’s forests, usually vital for the fight against climate change, could be emitting more carbon than they absorb, highlighting the urgent need for stronger global forest protection efforts.

Analysing satellite data, researchers from the UK, Europe and Africa, found that the continent gained carbon from 2007 to 2010.

However, between 2010 and 2017, Africa’s forests lost approximately 106 billion kilograms of forest biomass per year—equivalent to the weight of about 106 million cars, they said.

Tropical forests are considered ‘carbon sinks’ because they absorb more carbon dioxide from the air than they release.

But evidence from studies is increasingly suggesting that deforestation and disruptions, such as wildfires, run the risk of turning many of the world’s forests into a ‘carbon source’ from ‘carbon sink’.

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, noted “Africa’s forests and woody savannas have historically acted as a carbon sink, removing atmospheric carbon and storing it as biomass”.

“However, our novel analysis reveals a critical transition from a carbon sink to a carbon source between 2010 and 2017,” the authors wrote.

The analysis combines data gathered from the US’ and Japan’s space programmes and on-ground forest measurements.

The result is the most detailed map to date of biomass changes across the African continent, covering a decade, at a resolution fine enough to capture local deforestation patterns, the researchers said.

Senior author Heiko Balzter, professor and director of the Institute for Environmental Futures at the UK’s University of Leicester, said, “This is a critical wake-up call for global climate policy”.

“If Africa’s forests are no longer absorbing carbon, it means other regions and the world as a whole will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions even more deeply to stay within the 2 degrees Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement and avoid catastrophic climate change,” Balzter said.

Climate finance for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, launched at the recently concluded COP30, must be scaled up quickly to put an end to global deforestation for good, the senior author said.

Author Pedro Rodriguez-Veiga, from the National Centre for Earth Observation at the universities of Leicester, Sheffield and Edinburgh, said the study shows “deforestation isn’t just a local or regional issue—it’s changing the global carbon balance.”

“If Africa’s forests turn into a lasting carbon source, global climate goals will become much harder to achieve. Governments, the private sector, and NGOs must collaborate to fund and support initiatives that protect and enhance our forests,” Rodriguez-Veiga said.