New research shows Africa’s forests are now a source of carbon emissions, accelerating climate change. Learn about the massive forest loss and its global impact.
Africa’s forests are now contributing to climate change instead of helping to fight it, according to a new study. Once a vital partner in the battle against climate change, Africa’s forests are now releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they are absorbing. This revelation comes from an international research project published in Scientific Reports, led by experts from the Universities of Leicester, Sheffield, and Edinburgh. The study shows that this significant shift has occurred since 2010, raising concerns about the need to safeguard forests, a central topic at last week’s COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil.
Africa’s Forests Emitting Carbon
To track these changes, scientists used advanced satellite technology and artificial intelligence to monitor forest biomass (the amount of carbon stored in trees and woody plants) across Africa over more than a decade. They found that while African forests were increasing in carbon storage between 2007 and 2010, this trend reversed after that time.
From 2010 to 2017, Africa lost around 106 billion kilograms of forest biomass annually. To give a sense of scale, that’s about the weight of 106 million cars. The most severe losses happened in tropical rainforests, such as those in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and parts of West Africa, largely due to deforestation and forest degradation. While some carbon gains were observed in savanna areas from shrub growth, these gains were much smaller than the losses in tropical forests.
Why This Matters for Climate Change
This development has serious implications for climate change. Professor Heiko Balzter, Director of the Institute for Environmental Futures at the University of Leicester, said if Africa’s forests stop absorbing carbon, other regions will need to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions to meet the 2°C temperature goal set in the Paris Agreement.
The findings coincide with COP30 introducing the new Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a programme aimed at providing billions of pounds to countries that maintain their tropical forests. Without swift action to prevent forest loss, one of the world’s most important natural carbon sinks could vanish.
Calls for Stronger Forest Protection
Experts are calling for stronger forest protection.
Dr Nezha Acil, a co-author from the National Center for Earth Observation, stated, “Stronger forest governance, enforcement against illegal logging, and large-scale restoration programs such as AFR100, which aims to restore 100 million hectares of African landscapes by 2030, can make a huge difference in reversing the damage done.”
Dr Pedro Rodríguez-Veiga, who conducted much of the research, added that this study shows that deforestation is not just a local issue, it’s affecting the global carbon balance. Governments, businesses, and NGOs must collaborate to fund initiatives that protect and restore forests.