Grown forests are carbon stores, not carbon sinks: the carbon is locked into trees and released when the trees die (some of it might get sunk into the soil but IIRC it&#x27;s a very small fraction). When the forest does not grow, its day-to-day carbon impact is pretty much neutral, growing trees are balanced by decaying dead trees.<p>There&#x27;s limited &quot;missed future CO2 absorption&quot; to deforestation, but there&#x27;s a huge &quot;immediate&quot; released of stored carbon.