Abstract Forests play a crucial role in mitigating the impacts of climate change by sequestering carbon in their biomass and soil. However, Ethiopia faces the threat of soil carbon emissions due to deforestation and continuous cultivation. This study reviewed the analogies in phytobiomass and soil carbon evaluation methods in Ethiopia. Index-base and year-wise analysis methods were used for the compilation of the study. Developing nations, such as Ethiopia, duly enhance resilient measures to assess forest carbon stocks for effective climate change mitigation, particularly with reference to emissions from deforestation and degradation. Even though more than 90% of Ethiopia’s energy comes from forest biomass, deforestation significantly affects the carbon stored in aboveground biomass, which is the largest reservoir. Estimating forest biomass and carbon emissions entails uncertainties, with error ranges around ±50% for aboveground pools and ±90% for soil carbon pools. Various tier methodologies are employed by experts to estimate forest biomass and carbon stock emissions, with Tier 2 factors serving as default emissions but country-specific factors offering improved accuracy over Tier 1. Tier 3 methodologies require highly specific inventory data on carbon stocks in different pools and common measurements of key carbon stocks. Forest conservation enhances biodiversity, ecosystem resilience, and essential ecosystem services, fostering soil health, regulating water cycles, and supporting diverse plant and animal species. In conclusion, directing efforts towards forest conservation not only helps maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services but also significantly contributes to mitigating climate change by enhancing carbon storage capacities and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.