Carbon sink

A carbon sink is a reservoir that can absorb or 'sequester' carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and include forests, soils, peat, permafrost, ocean water and carbonate deposits in the deep ocean. Most of these carbon sinks are very large and very slow moving; human influence on these sinks is generally deemed fairly minimal, with the possible exception of soils and agriculture. Oil, coal and natural gas represent the final evolution of pre-historic carbon sinks that are now "fossilized" into mineral form.

The most commonly referenced form of carbon sink is that of forests. Plants and trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, retain the carbon component as the building block of plant fiber and release oxygen back into the atmosphere. Therefore, long lived, high biomass plants, such as trees and forests represent effective carbon sinks as long as they are maintained.

Refer to the Forestry Issues paper released by Gareth Phillips et al. of SGS for additional forests as sinks information.

The degree to which the positive impacts of 'sinks', forestry and otherwise, can be captured and utilized in an emissions trading context is still a matter of contentious debate at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other forums.

Refer to the Presentations from our event in Bonn at COP 6 Part 2 entitled “Forestry Issues Arising From COP 6" for additional information.

Certain gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons, contribute two-fold to climate change by simultaneously trapping reflected heat and thinning the protective ozone layer. This ozone depletion reduces the atmosphere's ability to absorb and reflect solar radiation. As a result more solar radiation is able to reach the earth's surface and potentially accelerate the process of climate change.