--- title: "Plants and Forests Absorbed Almost No Carbon Last Year, Shocking Climate Scientists" description: "Preliminary data found that in 2023, some of Earth's natural carbon sinks momentarily stopped working — a troubling sign of a breaking point." date: "2024-10-15" modified: "2024-10-15" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/forests-absorbed-almost-no-carbon" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "carbon sinks" - "climate change" - "climate crisis" - "the digest" --- # Plants and Forests Absorbed Almost No Carbon Last Year, Shocking Climate Scientists ![Preliminary data found that in 2023, some of Earth's natural carbon sinks momentarily stopped working — a troubling sign of a breaking point.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Sink Collapse The Earth's natural defenses against carbon emissions could be breaking down. Our planet has historically been home to natural "carbon sinks," or sites like forests and oceans that naturally remove potentially atmosphere-damaging carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But as [*The Guardian* reports](), [preliminary data]() from an international team of researchers shows that 2023 — the hottest year on record — saw an alarming lapse in the Earth's innate ability to swallow and neutralize carbon, with trees, soil, and plants together absorbing next to no carbon. In other words: in 2023, it seems that some of Earth's natural carbon sinks stopped working. As *The Guardian* notes, the study's findings echo other research, such as a[ 2023 study on zooplankton](), which found that [fast-melting ocean glaciers]() could hinder the ocean's ability to capture and repurpose carbon. Humankind's still-overwhelming reliance on fossil fuels has put a huge amount of stress on natural carbon sinks to clean up after us. And while the environment has shown incredible [resilience]() and [adaptability]() over time, this growing body of research could signal a [consequential breaking point]() — and scientists are sounding the alarm. "This stressed planet has been silently helping us and allowing us to shove our debt under the carpet thanks to biodiversity," Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, told *The Guardian.* "We are lulled into a comfort zone — we cannot really see the crisis." ## Imperfect Models It's worth noting that carbon sinks are complex and [notoriously]()[ hard to measure](), and models show variability in terms of timeline. "Overall, models agreed that both the land sink and the ocean sink are going to decrease in the future as a result of climate change," Andrew Watson, who helms the marine and atmospheric science group at Exeter University in England, told *The Guardian*. "But there's a question of how quickly that will happen." Watson added that most models "tend to show this happening rather slowly over the next 100 years or so," but also pointed out that most models don't incorporate seemingly consequential factors like worsening wildfires and deforestation. Regardless of whether it takes a decade or a century to get there, carbon sink models showing collapse over time are a daunting sign that global warming could soon accelerate. "Climate scientists \[are\] worried about climate change not because of the things that are in the models but the knowledge that the models are missing certain things," Watson told *The Guardian*. **More on the climate crisis:** [*Scientists Horrified by What They Found Under the Doomsday Glacier*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()