How much forest is needed to sequester global emissions?

An area of forest larger than Germany, France, and Spain together, allowed to fully grow, would be needed to compensate for one single year of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the EU's Joint Research Centre science and knowledge service.

An area of forest larger than Germany, France, and Spain together, allowed to fully grow, would be needed to compensate for one single year of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the EU's Joint Research Centre science and knowledge service.

Forests naturally absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it in their biomass, playing a large role, along with strong reductions in emissions, in International policy frameworks such as the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, and the EU’s European Green Deal.