Earth’s systems keep the levels of carbon in the atmosphere balanced. As carbon is released from biological processes, it is stored back up by others, such as the ocean, plants and soil. These are Carbon Sinks, areas with the ability to drawdown and store greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
While this process has worked successfully for eons, the rate at which humans are emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is putting a strain on this balance.
For decades, our emissions of CO2 have been increasing, and, currently, we are treading very close to surpassing crucial 1.5 degrees Celsius warming maximum targets.
However, according to Pep Candell, the Chief Research Scientist for CSIRO Environment, it is only because of these natural carbon sinks that this target is still a possibility and that, without them, “current warming would already be well above 2 degrees Celsius.”
Johan Rockstrom, the Director of Postdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, agrees with this, confirming that “[humans] have been lulled into a comfort zone – we cannot see the true extent of the [climate] crisis unfolding.”
“[Our] stressed planet has been silently helping us and allowing us to shove our debt under the carpet,” he says.
However, in 2023, the reality of “our abuse” of these systems was revealed. “The carbon uptake on land dropped by 28%” according to Candell’s research, throwing our emissions further out of balance. While total emissions only increased by 1.1% compared to 2022, net growth in the atmosphere was 86%.
A team of scientists from Tsinghua University in China and the University of Exeter in England researched the cause behind the collapse of these global carbon sinks. Their research found that increasing temperatures, droughts, and wildfires greatly reduced the ability of forests to sequester carbon as they grow.
“Imagine your plants at home: If you don’t water them, they’re not very productive, they don’t grow, they don’t take up carbon,” said Stephen Sitch, a co-author of the study. Now, “put that on a big scale like the Amazon forest,” and picture the consequences.
Other research shows that it wasn’t just land sinks that were impacted. As glaciers and ice sheets melt, it disrupts the Gulf stream’s current and slows the rate at which carbon is absorbed into the ocean. All these events affecting carbon sinks are symptoms of human-caused climate change.
While the researchers assure that 2023 was an outlier due to its El Nino weather pattern, Richard Birdsey from the Woodwell Climate Research Center cautions that ‘[2023] is a warning. There is a good chance years like [it] are going to become more common.” If we want to save our planet, we must do more.