GENEVA : The report, released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) ahead of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil, revealed that forests in Europe, North America, the Caucasus, and Central Asia are losing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. If current trends persist, the report warns, these forests could soon emit more carbon than they capture, a tipping point that would severely undermine global climate goals.
Forests in the Northern Hemisphere currently store about half of the world’s carbon stock and play a crucial role in offsetting emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation. The UNECE cautioned that this natural balance is deteriorating rapidly due to rising temperatures, intensifying wildfires, pest infestations, and prolonged droughts.
“The message is clear,” said Tatiana Mulcahyan, Executive Secretary of the UNECE. “What we have achieved over the past three decades is now seriously at risk because of the climate emergency.”
The report also highlights the vulnerability of Arctic and boreal forests, which contain nearly half of the planet’s ancient primary forests and vast carbon reserves. Between 2020 and 2022, European forests absorbed only about one-third as much carbon dioxide annually as they did a decade earlier, according to research by the European Union’s Joint Research Centre.
With more than 42 percent of the world’s forests concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere, the findings underscore the urgent need for stronger global action.
A UN report warns that forests in the Northern Hemisphere are nearing a climate tipping point, losing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. If trends continue, these forests could emit more carbon than they capture, threatening global climate goals. The UNECE emphasizes the urgent need for action as rising temperatures and environmental stressors accelerate this decline.