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The change in dissolved inorganic δ¹³C in the ocean resulting from the change in δ¹³C in atmospheric CO₂ owing to anthropogenic activities (the Suess effect) is well known. The need to correct for the Suess effect when applying δ¹³C in organic matter in lacustrine sediment deposited during the anthropocene as a productivity proxy, is widely although not universally acknowledged. This paper reviews conceptions about the Suess effect in lacustrine δ¹³C_org and methods to adjust for the Suess effect when δ¹³C_org is used to infer recent changes in aquatic productivity. Lake Tanganyika is used as an example to illustrate the necessity of the correction. When the Suess effect is not considered, interpretations of sediment core data can result that are opposite to those achieved with the correction applied, as is here shown in Lake Tanganyika and in other lakes. A new method to correct for the Suess effect is …