Mitigating global warming is the responsibility of all countries. Moreso, the role of forests in sequestrating carbon is very crucial. Most environmental organizations are active in protecting the environment according to their objectives. This paper investigates the relationship between institutional freedom and forest carbon sinks by using a panel threshold model with 139 countries to verify the U-shaped relationship between forest carbon sinks and economic development. The U-shaped curve between forest carbon sinks and economic development is the same as the environmental Kuznets curve. The impact of institutional freedom on forest carbon sinks under different economic development thresholds is analyzed. Institutional freedom harms forest carbon sinks when the country experiences lower economic growth. Further analysis shows that when economic development is high, there are positive effects, and the beneficial effects of institutional freedom on the forest carbon sink gradually enhance as the threshold value increases. The article clarifies the relationship between institutional freedom and forest carbon sinks and also provides implications for making forest management strategies and climate mitigation policies.

减轻全球变暖是所有国家的责任。此外，森林在固碳中的作用非常关键。大多数环保组织都根据其目标积极地保护环境。本文通过使用面板阈值模型对139个国家进行调查，研究了制度自由与森林碳汇之间的关系，以验证森林碳汇与经济发展之间的U型关系。森林碳汇和经济发展之间的U形曲线与环境库兹涅茨曲线相同。分析了制度自由度对不同经济发展门槛下森林碳汇的影响。当该国经济增长放缓时，制度自由会损害森林的碳汇。进一步的分析表明，当经济发展高时，会产生积极的影响，并且随着阈值的增加，制度自由对森林碳汇的有利影响逐渐增强。本文阐明了机构自由与森林碳汇之间的关系，并为制定森林管理战略和减缓气候变化政策提供了启示。