How do carbon sinks contribute to climate change mitigation?

Carbon sinks play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by absorbing more carbon dioxide than they release. This process occurs primarily in ecosystems such as forests, oceans, and soils, where various natural mechanisms allow these systems to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere.

Plants, for example, utilize carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to grow, sequestering carbon in their biomass. When carbon sinks operate effectively, they help reduce the overall concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is vital since increased concentrations of this greenhouse gas are a significant driver of global warming.

In contrast, options that suggest carbon sinks produce carbon dioxide or promote fossil fuel consumption do not contribute to climate mitigation. Capturing methane emissions is a beneficial practice, but it does not directly relate to the primary function of carbon sinks regarding carbon dioxide absorption. Thus, the key characteristic of carbon sinks is their ability to sequester carbon, making them integral in efforts to combat climate change by counteracting the effects of human-induced emissions.