CO2 sink

A carbon dioxide (CO₂) sink is a concept that has become widely known through the Kyoto protocol. The idea is that growing vegetation absorbs CO₂, so that countries that have large areas of forest (or other vegetation) can deduct a certain amount from their CO₂ emissions, thus making it easier to achieve the desired emission levels.

Some countries also want to be able to trade in emission rights to make it possible for one country to buy the use of CO₂ sinks in another country.

The use of CO₂ sinks is not uncontroversial; some studies indicate that a forest can be a net source of CO₂.