A new research by the team of international researchers has revealed that the amount of carbon intake by land has drastically decreased in 2023. According to the Guardian report, 2023 being the hottest year on record has noticed the sudden decrease in the CO2 absorption by plants and soil.

The study has also reported that there are early warning signs at sea too, the glaciers in Greenland and Arctic sea are melting faster than expected. This rapid melting of glacier results in disruption of the Gulf Stream ocean current and slowing down the rate of carbon absorption.

The decrease in carbon absorption cannot be considered as a short-term issue. Melting sea ice is letting more sunlight reach algae-eating zooplankton. This change might keep them deeper in the ocean for longer, which could disrupt their movement and affect how carbon is stored on the ocean floor. Therefore it can be called a long term issue.

Johan Rockstrom, director of the Post Institute for Climate Impact and Research, said in an event that, "We’re seeing cracks in the resilience of the Earth’s systems. We’re seeing massive cracks on land – terrestrial ecosystems are losing their carbon store and carbon uptake capacity, but the oceans are also showing signs of instability."

In 2023 the decline in the land's ability to absorb carbon might be temporary. Without droughts or wildfires, these areas could start absorbing carbon again. Although, this emphasises how delicate these ecosystems are, with serious effects on the climate crisis.

Reaching net zero carbon emissions can't happen without nature. Since there isn't a technology available to remove large amounts of carbon from the air, we rely on forests, grasslands, peat bogs, and oceans to absorb the carbon pollution humans produced, which hit a record 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023.

The report further says, at least 118 countries are dependent on land to meet national climate targets. But the rising temperature and extreme weather conditions are pushing the ecosystem in an unfamiliar situation.

Beside having a number of technologies which are capable of  absorbing atmospheric carbon, Earth’s forests, peatlands, grasslands and oceans remain the primary system absorbing carbon emissions, which reached a record of 37.4 billion tonnes in 2023.

Most climate models did not anticipate the rapid decline of land carbon sinks seen in 2023. If this trend persists, it could result in global warming occurring more quickly than these models predicted.

 

What will happen if carbon absorption stops?

 

If by any chance the carbon absorption by the land stops, it would mean the world will have to make much more efforts to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to achieve net zero target. The decline of land carbon sinks, which has mostly been seen in specific regions,cripple the efforts of countries to reduce carbon emissions and meet their climate goals. Many nations are already finding this challenging.

In Australia, extreme heat and drought in the rangelands are causing significant soil carbon losses, putting the country’s climate targets at risk if emissions keep rising. In Europe, countries like France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Sweden are also seeing reduced carbon absorption due to bark beetle outbreaks, drought, and increased tree death.

Meanwhile, Finland, which has the most ambitious carbon neutrality goal among developed nations, has lost its large land carbon sink. As a result, even with a 43% reduction in emissions across all industries, Finland's total emissions have remained unchanged.