Coastal ecosystems in eight out of ten world regions are net greenhouse gas sinks, because the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) is greater than the release of methane and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). This is the conclusion of a study led by Australia’s Southern Cross University with the participation of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, the Leibniz-Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and the GEOMAR Helmholtz-Center for Ocean Research Kiel. The study was recently published in Nature Climate Change.