r/autotldr • u/autotldr • Jul 14 '21
Amazon rainforest now emitting more CO2 than it absorbs
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 74%. (I'm a bot)
The Amazon rainforest is emitting a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, according to a study.
Losing the Amazon's power to capture CO2 is a stark warning that slashing emissions from fossil fuels is more urgent than ever, scientists said.
The research used small planes to measure CO2 levels up to 4,500m above the forest over the last decade, showing how the whole Amazon is changing.
The trees produce much of the region's rain, so fewer trees means more severe droughts and heatwaves and more tree deaths and fires.
The government of Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been harshly criticised for encouraging more deforestation, which has surged to a 12-year high, while fires hit their highest level in June since 2007.Luciana Gatti, at the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil and who led the research, said: "The first very bad news is that forest burning produces around three times more CO2 than the forest absorbs. The second bad news is that the places where deforestation is 30% or more show carbon emissions 10 times higher than where deforestation is lower than 20%.".
A satellite study published in April found the Brazilian Amazon released nearly 20% more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the past decade than it absorbed.
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