Lateral carbon transfer along the land-ocean continuum is a key component of global carbon cycle, yet its response to global change is poorly quantified. Here, we use a land-surface model to simulate vertical (soil-plant-atmosphere) and lateral (land-river-ocean) carbon exchanges in Europe between 1901-2014 and investigate the effect of atmospheric carbon dioxide, climate and land use changes on lateral carbon transfer. We find that global change during 1901-2014 led to a significant increase in the total terrestrial carbon delivery to European rivers (33% increase) and to the sea (20% increase). Carbon delivery increased in the dissolved phase and decreased in the particulate phase. Climate change, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, and land-use change explain 62%, 36% and 2% of the temporal change in European lateral carbon transfer during the study period, respectively. Our findings suggest that redistribution of soil carbon due to lateral carbon transfer induced a 5% reduction in the net land carbon sink in Europe.