A French environmental group, Canopee, has reported that the country's forests are absorbing less carbon than they used to. Data from France's emissions monitoring agency Citepa shows that the amount of carbon absorbed by forests has fallen by more than half since the early 2000s. Canopee argues that protecting natural carbon sinks is as important as cutting emissions, especially for France's goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The decline in forest carbon uptake undermines a key assumption in many national climate plans. Natural sinks are often counted on to offset hard-to-abate emissions, but if their capacity is shrinking, those plans need adjustment. The report highlights a gap between policy targets and the actual health of ecosystems that are supposed to help meet them. For carbon markets and climate finance, this raises questions about how carbon credits from forest projects are verified. If baseline absorption rates are changing, the additionality and permanence of forest-based offsets become harder to guarantee. The story is a reminder that nature-based solutions depend on nature staying healthy, which is not guaranteed.
