Ang mundo ay umaasa sa natural carbon sinks para mapanatili ang balanse ng carbon dioxide. Pero nagbago at nasira ang balanseng dahil sa pagtaas ng carbon emissions sa mundo kada taon.
Ano nga ba ang carbon sinks at paano nga ba nito mapipigilan ang paglala ng climate change? Here’s what you #NeedToKnow.
Ano nga ba ang carbon sinks at paano nga ba nito mapipigilan ang paglala ng climate change? Here’s what you #NeedToKnow.
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00:00Our world is relying on natural carbon sinks to maintain the balance of carbon dioxide.
00:08But this balance changed and was destroyed during the Industrial Revolution.
00:16Since then, carbon emissions in the world continue to rise every year.
00:22They had to rely on the burning of fuel, specifically fossil fuels.
00:27These were the engines that propelled the Industrial Revolution.
00:32In 2023, the highest record of global energy-related carbon dioxide was recorded,
00:40which reached 37.4 billion tons, according to the International Energy Agency.
00:47As carbon emissions continue to rise,
00:51natural carbon sinks are no longer able to absorb the excess carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
01:00If we don't act quickly, climate change can happen even faster.
01:08That's one of the things about carbon sinks.
01:11They need to be effective in sequestering carbon.
01:14There was also a study that carbon sinks really couldn't sequester carbon anymore.
01:20What are carbon sinks and how can they stop climate change?
01:27Here's what you need to know.
01:312015 to 2024 will be the warmest 10 years on record,
01:37according to the State of the Climate 2024 update by the World Meteorological Organization or WMO.
01:46From January to September 2024,
01:49the global mean average temperature of the world reached 1.54 degrees Celsius.
01:57This data was released on the first day of the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
02:07Because of human activities, such as burning fossil fuels,
02:13carbon emissions in our atmosphere increased, which led to climate change.
02:20Why is CO2 the so-called culprit of climate change?
02:24If you put it in the atmosphere, in significant amounts,
02:27the heat that enters our atmosphere due to the sun will be trapped.
02:32This produces what we call a greenhouse effect.
02:35This is where the idea of global warming comes from.
02:38We can see that a large amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere are really due to fossil fuels.
02:46It is said that global warming can be stopped if we return to the balance of the carbon cycle.
02:54The carbon cycle is the natural process in which carbon moves in the air, water, land, and other living organisms.
03:05This cycle needs to be regulated,
03:08because if not, we will see the effects that we are actually experiencing now because of climate change.
03:13So you can look at the worst effects of climate change as a consequence to the disruption of this carbon cycle.
03:21In the carbon cycle, there are so-called sources that produce carbon dioxide,
03:27and there are sinks that absorb it.
03:30For example, when animals breathe, they produce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
03:37This carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants and trees through photosynthesis.
03:46Some of the natural sources of carbon are what we produce and other organisms whenever we breathe.
03:54For example, the rotting of dead plants or animals,
03:58and whenever volcanic eruptions and wildfires occur.
04:04Anthropogenic sources are what we call the origin of carbon due to human activities,
04:10such as burning fossil fuels for energy,
04:14agriculture,
04:16deforestation,
04:19and other industrial processes.
04:22Sinks in the carbon cycle are places or methods,
04:27natural as well, such as forest and ocean,
04:30or artificial, such as carbon storage technology
04:34that absorbs and absorbs carbon from the atmosphere.
04:39So what are examples of carbon sinks?
04:42Forests are significant carbon sinks.
04:44Peat lands are very, very important carbon sinks.
04:48And of course, the biggest carbon sink in the world are oceans.
04:51Our oceans are able to sequester millions of tons of carbon dioxide,
04:56which means that life and the equilibrium maintained by the sea are essential
05:02for effective carbon sinks.
05:05Carbon emissions in the world began to increase when the dynamic equilibrium of the carbon cycle was destroyed.
05:13Dynamic equilibrium is the balancing of the movement of carbon
05:17through the sources of carbon dioxide and the sinks that absorb it.
05:25But when people started digging the ground to get and burn fossil fuels,
05:32this is where the balance of the carbon cycle began to be destroyed.
05:38So let's think of a carbon sink as a sponge.
05:41When water is added, the sponge absorbs that water.
05:45But we know that that sponge will only be able to get as much water as it can.
05:52So it means that it has a limit.
05:54And essentially, this sponge is a carbon sink, and the water is carbon.
05:58In a study conducted by 16 researchers from various science organizations around the world,
06:05it was found that our natural carbon sinks are no longer able to
06:10sink the impact of carbon dioxide on the world.
06:15In 2023, 1.5 to 2.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide
06:23was absorbed by the earth and forests,
06:27far from the 9.5 billion metric tons that were absorbed by them in 2022.
06:35This is also one of the unfortunate realities of our world
06:39where the demands for natural resources are increasing.
06:42The sinks there became less effective.
06:45And on top of that, these lands are being converted
06:48because they're already carbon sinks.
06:50It means that a lot of them are being sequestered.
06:52And if you do land conversion,
06:54you essentially release all of this carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
06:58So we see that overdevelopment is also becoming a challenge,
07:02especially development in very, very critical areas in our ecosystem
07:07that make it more difficult to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.
07:12The oceans, the world's largest natural carbon sink, are also in danger.
07:19It's like a chicken and egg problem.
07:21The world is heating up, the water becomes acidic,
07:24and because the water becomes acidic, it can no longer sequester as much carbon
07:28because it becomes a source of emissions.
07:31So we're at a point now where it's hard to go back to the past.
07:36And we're at a point now where there's a self-perpetuating process
07:42of acidifying and reducing the ocean's effectiveness as a carbon sink.
07:48We're slowly seeing the destruction of our natural carbon sinks,
07:54like the wildfires in the forests of Canada and Siberia.
08:00The forests in these countries are some of the most anticipated natural carbon sinks
08:07that can emit carbon dioxide emissions to the world.
08:13The Amazon River is also starting to dry up,
08:17a large part of the Amazon Rainforest.
08:21It's considered the lungs of the planet
08:23because of the significant amount of oxygen it produces
08:27and also because of its massive carbon sink.
08:32Because of the destruction of natural carbon sinks,
08:36their ability to absorb carbon dioxide is also decreasing.
08:42This worsens the effects of climate change,
08:45which is also the cause of the loss of natural carbon sinks.
08:51And the cycle continues.
08:54If we go back to the sponge analogy,
08:56you don't just throw a few drops of water into the sponge,
08:59you also throw a few buckets into the sponge.
09:02What's the worst-case scenario?
09:04I'm afraid we're living it right now.
09:06It's a bit of a snowball effect.
09:08If they're not sequestered enough carbon,
09:11the world will get hotter.
09:13And when the world gets hotter, these parts will melt more,
09:16which decreases their effectiveness as natural carbon sinks,
09:19but also endangers the lives of the biodiversity in that area.
09:24In the Philippines,
09:25up to 1.42 million hectares of tree cover were lost from 2001 to 2022.
09:35This loss amounted to 848 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions
09:42according to the Climate Change Commission.
09:46During the summer,
09:48the record-breaking heat reached 50 degrees Celsius this year.
09:54The next typhoon hit the country in the past few months.
09:59Because the destruction of these carbon sinks
10:02will directly lead to more severe, unpredictable, and intense climate impacts.
10:07And this is really a foretaste of what can happen to the Philippines
10:13if we don't push for strong policies that protect carbon sinks,
10:19that protect natural ecosystems,
10:21and that make polluters accountable.
10:24Here, artificial carbon sinks may benefit.
10:30Just like natural carbon sinks,
10:32artificial carbon sinks also extract carbon dioxide
10:37and dump it on land or sea.
10:41But there are limitations to this technology
10:45and it is not considered a sustainable solution.
10:50One of the technologies called carbon capture technologies,
10:55it would be funny to note that a lot of these carbon capture technologies
10:58are actually funded by the very same fossil fuel corporations
11:01that continue to use and abuse fossil fuels.
11:05So I think we need to see where these carbon capture technologies
11:10are greenwashing.
11:12So that is one of the realities.
11:14Although the carbon cycle has been blamed,
11:17there is still hope for it to return to balance.
11:21First, the carbon emission from fossil fuels needs to be reduced or stopped.
11:28This is something that could happen in a blink of an eye
11:32or impossible to happen
11:34because it is already part of our everyday life.
11:39The science is clear.
11:40Phasing out the fossil fuels is the single most important thing
11:44the world needs to do right now
11:46to be able to have a chance here in the escalating climate crisis.
11:50It is really an existential question
11:52and the hard decisions must be made,
11:54but they have to be made.
11:57Reducing carbon emissions is also not enough
12:00to make a real change.
12:04Even if fossil fuels are stopped,
12:07carbon dioxide will still be high in the atmosphere.
12:12The best way is to take care of the residents
12:16or save the natural carbon sinks in the world
12:21so that it can return to its former state.
12:25No matter how quickly the carbon cycle is broken
12:29within a few hundred years,
12:32we will also wait hundreds of years
12:35to get it back.
12:37Actually, a lot of the solutions are right in front of us.
12:40We just need to take care of them.
12:41And I don't think being completely reliant on our own technological innovation
12:47will solve the climate crisis.
12:49Caring for nature will do.
12:51Working together will do.
12:52And holding those polluters accountable will help solve the climate crisis.
12:56It's not technology.
12:57It's accountability.
12:59It's protecting the environment.
13:01And it's working together.
13:05NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
13:35NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology