Energy & Science
Tropical Forests Are Reaching Their Carbon Dioxide Limit
A study of hundreds of thousands of trees in Africa and the Amazon concludes that they aren’t drawing down greenhouse gases like they used to.
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Humanity has pushed atmospheric carbon dioxide levels almost 50% higher than they were before industrialization. That dramatic number would be even higher without tropical forests, which have been absorbing as much as 17% of CO₂ emissions along the way.
Unfortunately, rainforests can’t capture carbon like they used to.