Carbon Balance
The Global Carbon Project posted the most recent figures for the worlds’ carbon budget but in spite of the increasing international sense of urgency, the growth rate of emissions continued to speed up, bringing the atmospheric CO2 concentration to 383 parts per million (ppm) in 2007.
CO2 emissions caused by human activity have been growing about four times faster since 2000 than during the previous decade, despite efforts to curb emissions in a number of Kyoto Protocol signatory countries. Emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel and land use change reached 10 billion tones of carbon in 2007.
Dr. Pep Canadell, executive director of the Global Carbon Project said “This new update of the carbon budget shows the acceleration of both CO2 emissions and atmospheric accumulation are unprecedented and most astonishing during a decade of intense international developments to address climate change.” Emissions growth for 2000-2007 was above even the most fossil fuel intensive scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Although China and India continue to increase emissions, China has improved the carbon intensity of their economy since 2005, based on data from the National Energy Administration in China. They are also investing heavily in manufacturing alternative energy equipment and are the largest global manufacturer of solar panels.
There was an estimated 1.5 billion tons deficit from forest cover, with the deforestation in tropical countries far outweighing what was gained through new plantings.
Although carbon uptake by oceans was expected to rise with the higher atmospheric concentration of CO2, in 2007 it was reduced by a net 10 million tons.
The natural land and ocean CO2 sinks, which have removed 54% (or 4.8 billion tons per year) of all CO2 emitted from human activities during the period 2000-2007, are now becoming less efficient as feedbacks between the carbon cycle and climate increase.
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October 10th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
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