▲On the 2nd, the flow of the Amazon River decreased by 90% due to drought in the Amazonas region of Colombia (Photo = AFP/Yonhap News)
The analysis is that if the natural ecosystem, which plays a role in absorbing carbon in nature, collapses due to the climate crisis, humans will not be able to properly reap the effects of carbon reduction.
On the 15th (local time), Professor Andrew Watson of the Earth System Institute at the University of Exeter, UK, said in an interview with the UK Guardian, “Most climate prediction models predict that the function of carbon sinks will gradually deteriorate over 100 years and do not reflect this effect. “However, the collapse of carbon sinks may be much faster than expected,” he said.
Carbon sinks refer to elements that absorb carbon dioxide in nature, such as trees, wetlands, microorganisms in the soil, plankton, and coral. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that natural carbon sinks have absorbed 56% of greenhouse gases emitted by human activities over the past 60 years.
However, as the climate crisis progresses rapidly, the function of natural carbon sinks is rapidly deteriorating. According to a study published in July of this year, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere last year increased by 86% compared to the previous year, reaching the highest level in recorded history. However, during this period, global carbon emissions only increased by 0.6%. The research team explains that this result proves that natural carbon sinks are not functioning properly.
In fact, as cracks due to the climate crisis appear throughout the ecosystem, the function of carbon sinks is weakening. Tropical rainforests around the world, which used to act as carbon sinks, have long since changed their role to carbon emissions sources due to logging and farmland reclamation. In particular, this year, due to a record-breaking drought, the water level of the Amazon River has reached an all-time low, and as forest fires are occurring everywhere due to drought and heat waves, the carbon sink ecology is further deteriorating.
The marine environment is also at risk. In the ocean, phytoplankton absorbs carbon dioxide during the day, and zooplankton rises from the seafloor in the middle of the night, eats the phytoplankton, and returns to the depths of the sea, capturing carbon. However, as global warming causes much sea ice to melt, the ocean is exposed to more sunlight, hindering the vertical movement of zooplankton. Because of this, the carbon capture capacity of the ocean is decreasing.
If carbon sinks lose their function, each country’s carbon neutrality goal will be disrupted. Finland, which has the highest deforestation rate among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, has reduced carbon emissions from the industrial sector by 43%. However, due to the recent clearing of forests near the Inari region, which is the country’s carbon sink, national carbon emissions have decreased. The analysis is that it was not reduced.
Johan Rosstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, pointed out, “Until now, we have been quietly pushing carbon emissions under the carpet while maintaining biodiversity. We are so absorbed in this comfort that we are unable to see through the real crisis.”
Professor Andrew Watson said, “We have always put off discussions about natural carbon sinks, believing they will always be with us,” and added, “However, there is no guarantee that carbon sinks will remain forever, so now we need to consider carbon sinks according to the changing climate.” “It’s time to ask how we respond when it stops functioning,” he said.
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