British Columbia’s vast managed forest is one of the most carbon-rich ecosystems on the planet. Its towering old-growth trees are champions of carbon storage. Historically, B.C.’s forest removed far more CO2 from the air each year than it emitted — storing the excess away in new growth. This valuable “carbon sink” helped slow the pace of our human-fuelled climate crisis. And … provided a free “carbon offsetting” service for all the wood harvested from it. But B.C.’s forest has been struggling under a relentlessly rising assault by drought, heat, insects, and wildfire. Now, the forest has begun dying faster than it is growing back. …Next, let’s look at the additional CO2 humans are directly causing by logging that forest. Once a tree is cut, the carbon stored in its wood turns back into CO2. This happens either when the wood is burned, or when it rots at the end of its use.