Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, release significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – disrupting the natural carbon cycle. In 2023, carbon pollution – as a result of human activity – reached a record 37.4 billion tonnes. With such record-breaking carbon emissions, it is getting harder for them to absorb atmospheric carbon.

Since the dawn of farming, humans have been accidentally creating a huge carbon sink that by now may store more carbon than all of the world’s living plants.