Record amount of CO2 entered the atmosphere in 2023

This means a record amount of CO2 entered Earth's atmosphere last year, adding to global warming, researchers say.

Wildfires in Quebec, Canada on June 12, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Plants help slow climate change by absorbing large amounts of CO2, the main greenhouse gas. Forests and other land ecosystems absorb on average nearly one-third of annual emissions from fossil fuels, industry and other human causes.

But in 2023, this ability was not effective, according to Philippe Ciais, study co-author at France's Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE).

“This absorption mechanism is like a pump, and we’re pumping less carbon from the atmosphere into the soil. Suddenly, the pump gets clogged and becomes less efficient,” Ciais said.

As a result, the rate of increase in CO2 into the atmosphere increased by 86% in 2023 compared with 2022, the researchers said.

Scientists from Tsinghua University (China), the University of Exeter (UK) and LSCE led the research into what is causing this change. The research was presented at the International CO2 Conference in Manaus, Brazil.

The main cause is record global temperatures that have dried out plants in the Amazon and other rainforests, preventing them from absorbing more carbon while also fueling wildfires in Canada, the study said.

The study is still undergoing academic review, but three scientists not involved in the study said its conclusions are accurate.

They say declines in soil carbon sequestration typically occur in years affected by El Nino, like 2023. But record temperatures due to climate change have made the declines more extreme.

They warn that this change could happen more frequently in the future if left unchecked.

“This is a warning,” said Richard Birdsey of the Woodwell Climate Research Center in the US. “It is likely that years like 2023 will become more common.”

“We can’t count on ecosystems to save us in the future,” says Trevor Keenan, an ecosystem scientist at the University of California, Berkeley.

Cao Phong (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/luong-co2-ky-luc-da-xam-nhap-bau-khi-quyen-vao-nam-2023-post305464.html