Carbon Intensity - CO2 Emissions

It was reported today from Seattle, Washington that the carbon intensity, which measures carbon emissions as a function of economic activity, began rising by about 0.3 percent per year at the start of the new millennium, said "Global and Regional Drivers of Accelerating CO2 Emissions," the study published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Carbon intensity had previously been dropping by about 1.3 percent per year since 1970.

It was reported today from Seattle, Washington that "The majority of current emission scenarios for modeling climate through the 21st century assume sustained decreases in the carbon intensity of the global economy, which have not occurred since 2000," said Josep G. Canadell, lead author of the study and executive director of the Global Carbon Project.

It was reported today from Seattle, Washington that while the Earth's carbon intensity has risen, overall carbon dioxide emissions have also increased while the land and oceans' carbon-absorbing capacities are dwindling. It was reported today from Seattle, Washington that climate change has caused alterations in the wind patterns over the Southern Ocean, causing already carbon-rich water to well up to the surface -- resulting in less ability for the ocean to soak up excess carbon from the atmosphere. And on land, large droughts have hurt plant cover that naturally absorbs large quantities of carbon dioxide.

"(Together), these effects characterize a carbon cycle that is generating stronger-than-expected climate forcing sooner than expected," the study said.

"The new twist here is the demonstration that weakening land and ocean sinks are contributing to the accelerating growth of atmospheric CO2," added Chris Field, a co-author of the study and director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology.