Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUN warns wildfires and climate change threaten northern hemisphere forests, risking reversal of carbon sink benefits.
By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) -Record wildfires and rising temperatures are threatening decades of forest growth in the northern hemisphere, potentially turning vital carbon sinks into carbon emitters, a new U.N. report said on Wednesday.
The report by the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), released ahead of the COP30 climate conference in Brazil, found that forests in Europe, North America, the Caucasus and Central Asia are slowing in their ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
If current trends continue, these forests could reach a tipping point where they begin releasing more carbon than they absorb, it warned.
This would undermine efforts to meet the Paris Agreement target of lowering emissions to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as these forests currently offset a major portion of human-produced CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation.
Forests in the northern hemisphere hold about half of the world's carbon storage.
ARCTIC BOREAL FORESTS VULNERABLE
"The message is clear: What we have achieved over the last three decades is now at serious risk from the climate emergency," UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean said in a statement.
The report highlights the vulnerability of the Arctic boreal forests, which contain nearly half of the world's primary, old-growth woodland and store large amounts of carbon. These forests face growing threats from rising temperatures and wildfires.
The northern hemisphere accounts for over 42% of the world's forests and nearly half of its primary woodland but is increasingly exposed to fire, pests and drought, according to the report.
Such factors have led to Europe's forests absorbing nearly one-third less CO2 annually in 2020-22 compared to 2010-14, a study led by the European Union’s Joint Research Centre found.
"We cannot afford to lose the planet's most powerful natural defense," Molcean said. "The rising tide of wildfires and drought is pushing our forests past a critical tipping point."
At COP30, Brazil is set to launch the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) to provide funding to countries that commit to preserving their forests.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; additional reporting by Ali Withers; editing by Mark Heinrich)
A carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases, helping to mitigate climate change.
Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that burn in forests, grasslands, or other areas, often exacerbated by dry conditions and high temperatures.
The Paris Agreement is an international treaty aimed at reducing carbon emissions and limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.
Carbon emissions refer to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, primarily from burning fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change.
Forests play a crucial role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, acting as natural carbon sinks that help mitigate climate change.
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