Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Carbon Sink
"A natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases"
A carbon sink is any natural or artificial system that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere than it emits. The primary natural carbon sinks are forests, oceans, and soil. Forests absorb CO2 through photosynthesis and store it as biomass and in soil organic matter. Under India's NDC commitments, creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through forest and tree cover was a target by 2030; the updated NDC 3.0 (March 2026) raised this to 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes by 2035. India's fourth Biennial Update Report (January 2025) reported 2.29 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent created as a carbon sink between 2005 and 2021. The FAO ranks India third globally in net gain in forest area.
Carbon sink is a key environment term for UPSC Prelims (definition, India's targets) and Mains GS-3 (climate change mitigation, forest conservation). It connects to NDC targets, compensatory afforestation (CAMPA Act 2016), Forest Rights Act, and Green Credit Programme.
- 1 Natural carbon sinks include forests, oceans, and soil
- 2 Forests absorb CO2 through photosynthesis and store as biomass
- 3 India's NDC 1.0 target was 2.5-3.0 billion tonnes CO2e additional carbon sink by 2030
- 4 India's NDC 3.0 target raised to 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes CO2e by 2035
- 5 India achieved 2.29 billion tonnes CO2e carbon sink (2005-2021)
- 6 FAO ranks India 3rd globally in net gain in forest area
- 7 Green Credit Programme (October 2023) and CAMPA Fund support afforestation efforts
- 8 Deforestation and land-use change can convert carbon sinks into carbon sources
India's NDC 3.0 raises the carbon sink target to 3.5-4.0 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2035, building on the 2.29 billion tonnes achieved by 2021 through afforestation and forest conservation.