According to a new study, the Amazon rainforest emits more carbon dioxide than it absorbs.
Research published in the journal “natural“It was revealed that forests now emit 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. Previously, they played an important role in absorbing the world’s carbon dioxide. Increased deforestation To create Provide more space for beef and soybean production Lead to more forest fires and changes in the carbon balance.
According to this research, Amazon used to be a “carbon sink” and is now accelerating carbon emissions.
For a long time, the world’s largest tropical rain forest has played a key role in maintaining climate balance. protector Note that plants and soil always absorb 30% of emissions, even though emissions have increased by 50% in the past half century. Forests also play a role in maintaining the water cycle in the area. The water released into the air by trees accounts for 35% of the rainfall in the area. New York Times.
Luciana Vanni Gatti, a scientist at the Brazilian National Institute of Space Research and author of the new study, said that Brazil is in a “negative cycle.”
“The first very bad news is that the carbon dioxide produced by forest burning is about three times as much carbon dioxide as the forest absorbs. The second bad news is that where the deforestation rate is 30% or more, the carbon emissions are less than 20%. % Of the place is 10 times,” she said.
No correction is expected soon. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has overseen an increase in deforestation by 9.5% from 2019 to 2020.
Suely Araujo, a senior expert on public policy and climate change issues at Observatorio do Clima in Brazil, said that the Bolsonaro government has formulated a clear policy to abolish the national environmental policy.
“He is removing the legitimacy of the federal environmental agency and its employees, firing capable employees, appointing ill-prepared people as department heads, and’flexible’ the regulations that form an important part of each country’s environmental policy,” Araujo Tell the environmental website Mongabay.
Photo: Knowledge Sharing
