India among top 10 nations with largest forest carbon sinks: FAO report
New Delhi (PTI): India ranked among the world's top ten countries with the largest forest carbon sinks, absorbing about 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year between 2021 and 2025, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The report, released on Tuesday, said that globally, forests acted as a net carbon sink during this period, removing about 0.8 billion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere annually.
The FAO report titled "Forest Emissions and Removals - Global, Regional and Country Trends 1990-2025" said that during 2021-2025, global forests sequestered 3.6 billion tonnes of CO2 per year on forest land.
However, this was partially offset by emissions from net forest conversion (a proxy for deforestation), estimated at 2.8 billion tonnes annually. As a result, global forests removed 0.8 billion tonnes of CO2 per year from the atmosphere during this period.
The report said that a decade earlier, these net removals were nearly twice as large, at 1.4 billion tonnes per year.
Between 2021 and 2025, the strongest forest carbon sinks were in Europe and Asia, removing 1.4 billion tonnes and 0.9 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, respectively.
The Americas and Africa recorded the largest emissions from deforestation, at 1.8 billion tonnes and 0.7 billion tonnes per year.
The Russian Federation had the largest carbon sink at 1,150 Mt CO2 per year, followed by China (840 Mt), the US (410 Mt), Brazil (340 Mt), India and Belarus (150 Mt each), South Africa (75 Mt), Ghana (55 Mt), the Republic of Korea (45 Mt) and Honduras (35 Mt).
Together, these top 10 countries accounted for nearly 90 per cent of global forest carbon sequestration.
By contrast, Brazil (1,242 Mt CO2 per year), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (156 Mt), and Peru (131 Mt) had the largest emissions due to net forest conversion during 2021-2025.
Other major emitters included Canada (93 Mt) and Cambodia (72 Mt).
At the regional level, the report said forests in Europe consistently acted as carbon sinks over the entire study period, with annual removals ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 billion tonnes of CO2, averaging 1.4 billion tonnes in 2021-2025. In Asia, average removals increased from 0.8 billion tonnes per year in 1991-2000 to 1.2 billion tonnes per year in 2021-2025.
The Americas and Africa remained the largest emitters overall.
Between 2021 and 2025, the Americas emitted about 1.8 billion tonnes of CO2 annually from net forest conversion, while Africa emitted 0.7 billion tonnes per year.
Asia's emissions from net forest conversion declined sharply to 0.3 billion tonnes per year during this period.
When combining removals and emissions, the Americas emerged as the largest net emitter during 2021-2025 (+1.0 Gt CO2 per year), followed by Africa (+0.6 Gt). In contrast, Europe (-1.4 Gt) and Asia (-0.9 Gt) were overall net CO2 sinks.
The FAO report is based on data from the newly released Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2025 and provides estimates for 220 countries and territories covering the period 1990-2025.
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Opposition BJP-JD(S) back job aspirants' agitation in K'taka, demand steps to fill vacant posts
Bengaluru (PTI): The opposition BJP- JD(S) on Tuesday blamed the ruling Congress in Karnataka for the government job aspirants' stir in Dharwad.
The BJP reminded the Congress about the election promise made by its leader Rahul Gandhi in 2023 to fill 2.5 lakh jobs once it came to power.
A large number of job seekers on Tuesday staged a massive protest in Dharwad and were taken into preventive custody while demanding filling vacant posts.
The BJP and the JD(S) have backed the agitation with the Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka and several MLAs taking part in the agitation.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, state BJP president B Y Vijayendra charged that ever since the Congress government came to power, it has not been able to fill even a single post.
He alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar, and ministers have been delivering speeches across the state, but have failed to deliver justice to the youths of the state.
"For the past two-and-a-half years, young people have been in tears, staging protests and agitations, yet none of this has been taken into account. It is unfortunate that even during the Belagavi Assembly session, when the All Karnataka State Students’ Association (AKSSA) staged protests, they were subjected to a lathi charge, and still the government did not wake up," Vijayendra alleged.
He said that 2.85 lakh posts in various government departments are lying vacant but the Congress government has not been able to initiate the recruitment process.
"Using the reservation issue as an excuse, the Congress government failed to argue properly in the High Court and is merely delaying the matter. There is no political will in this government to fill vacant posts and secure the future of the youth," the Shikaripura MLA said.
Vijayendra also shared a news report on 'X' which pertains to the Congress MP Rahul Gandhi making promise before the Assembly election to fill 2.5 lakh posts in the state on March 7, 2023.
He also put out the Congress manifesto in 2023, which reads, "to fill up approved vacancies in all government departments within one year."
Union Minister and the JD(S) second-in-command H D Kumaraswamy appealed to the state government not to take lightly the fact that countless job aspirants have taken to the streets in Dharwad.
"It is the government's failure to fill vacant posts in a timely manner that has forced the youth to choose the path of protest. My only appeal to the youth is this-- let your protest remain peaceful. I stand with you," he said in a social media post.
He said there are 2.94 lakh government posts lying vacant in the state but "only Cabinet-rank posts are being filled in ‘super-fast’ mode. This clearly shows the priorities of the Congress government in Karnataka."
Citing a report of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by R V Deshpande, the minister said there are seven lakh unemployed people in the state, who are waiting for government jobs.
He charged that the Congress in Karnataka wasted "three precious years in a power struggle over the chair".
