May
11, 2007
DEFORESTATION
PLAYS CRITICAL CLIMATE CHANGE ROLE
Dr. Pep Canadell,
from the Global Carbon Project and CSIRO
Marine and Atmospheric Research, says today in the journal Science that tropical deforestation
releases 1.5 billion tons of
carbon each year into the atmosphere.
"Deforestation
in the tropics accounts for nearly 20
per cent of carbon emissions due to human activities," Dr. Canadell
says.
"This will release an estimated 87 to 130 billion tons of carbon by
2100,
which is greater than the amount of carbon that would be released by 13
years
of global fossil fuel combustion. So maintaining forests as carbon
sinks will
make a significant contribution to stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse
gas
concentrations."
In
the first study of its kind, Dr. Canadell joined an
international team of experts from the US,
UK,
Brazil
and France
to compare data from 11
climate-carbon computer models. The results show that tropical forests
continue
to accumulate carbon through to the end of the century, although they
may
become less efficient at higher temperatures.
"The
new body of information shows considerable value
in preserving tropical forests such as those in the Amazon and Indonesia
as
carbon sinks, that they do not release the carbon back into the
atmosphere as has
been suggested," Dr. Canadell says. "However, it also demonstrates
the need to avoid higher levels of global warming, which could slow the
ability
of forests to accumulate carbon."
He
says that while tropical deforestation will continue,
slowing the amount of clearing will make significant impacts. "If by
2050 we
slow deforestation by 50 percent from current levels, with the aim of
stopping
deforestation when we have 50 percent of the world’s tropical
forests
remaining, this would save the emission of 50 billion tons of carbon
into the
atmosphere. This 50/50/50 option would avoid the release of the
equivalent of
six years of global fossil fuel emissions."
Reducing
deforestation is just one of a portfolio of
mitigation options needed to reduce concentrations of greenhouse gases
in the
atmosphere.
"Globally, we need a
range of actions to reduce the
build up of carbon in the atmosphere," Dr. Canadell says. "This study
ensures we have a sound scientific basis behind the consideration of
deforestation reduction."
##
Contact:
Simon
Torok
CSIRO Australia
61-409-844-302
simon.Torok@csiro.au
This
text derived from:
http://www.csiro.au/news/GlobalCarbonProject-Deforestation.html
Recommend this Article to a Friend
Back to: News |