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Earth's climate defences failing
Oct 16, 2024
Discover how trees are struggling in the fight against climate change, facing setbacks from recent events. A startling study reveals that the Earth’s ability to absorb carbon emissions is significantly decreasing, raising alarms about natural carbon sinks. Learn about the critical roles of forests and land in this process and the challenges we face with extreme weather transforming these vital carbon sinks into sources of CO2. The discussion highlights urgent questions on our climate goals amid these alarming findings.
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Quick takeaways
- Forests, plants, and soil are crucial for carbon absorption, yet they underperformed in capturing CO2 during 2023's extreme heat.
- Increasing extreme weather events like wildfires and droughts are critically undermining the Earth's natural ability to absorb carbon.
Deep dives
The Role of Trees in Carbon Absorption
Forests, plants, and soil are crucial natural defenses against climate change, as they absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. However, a new study has revealed that in 2023, these natural carbon sinks performed poorly, absorbing almost no CO2 during one of the hottest years on record. This raises serious concerns among scientists since the ability of these ecosystems to absorb carbon is essential for reaching global net-zero targets. Without sufficient carbon absorption from nature, many countries may struggle to meet their climate objectives, highlighting the urgent need to protect and restore these vital environments.
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