Unaccounted Climate Feedback Loops May Amplify Warming by 20–30% This Century, but Cutting Emissions Will Reduce Risks
Researchers say overlooked emissions from thawing permafrost, wetlands and wildfires could add 0.2 to 0.4 degrees Celsius to warming by 2100.
- A new study published Thursday in Environmental Research Letters reveals natural feedback loops could amplify global warming by 20% to 30% by 2100, adding up to 0.4 degrees Celsius to temperature projections.
- These climate "feedback loops," where warming triggers more carbon emissions that subsequently accelerate climate change, remain largely absent from most current climate models, according to researchers from Stanford University and Spark Climate Solutions.
- Canada's 2023 wildfires released one billion tonnes of carbon, while methane emissions from wetlands have spiked since around 2020 due to increased microbial metabolism in warming conditions.
- Coauthor Robert Jackson, a provostial professor at the Doerr School of Sustainability, called the results "a wake-up call," warning that omitting these emissions from policy makes meeting global climate goals increasingly difficult.
- University of Alberta professor David Olefeldt noted that understanding abrupt thawing processes is essential, as the disconnect between policy targets and Earth's actual response threatens to overshoot Paris Agreement limits.
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'Feedback loop' from wildfires, permafrost thaw in Canada causing even more climate change, new study shows
These climate feedback loops, where climate change triggers more greenhouse gas emissions that in turn feed into even more climate change, could add 20 to 30 per cent more warming over current estimates for this century.
Hidden Carbon Releases From Thawing Lands and Burning Forests Threaten to Boost Warming by 30%
A major new study finds that emissions from thawing permafrost, wildfires, wetlands and inland waters could amplify global warming by 20-30% this century. The overlooked processes add 0.2-0.4°C by 2100 on top of human-caused heating, tightening carbon budgets and demanding faster emissions cuts. The findings update climate models used for policy.
Unaccounted climate feedback loops may amplify warming by 20–30% this century, but cutting emissions will reduce risks
New research shows that warming-induced emissions—greenhouse gas emissions from natural sources driven by rising temperatures—could amplify global warming by approximately 20%–30% and add an estimated 0.2°C–0.4°C of warming this century on top of anthropogenic warming under different scenarios. These major additional drivers of warming are largely unaccounted for in current climate projections and policies.
The rise in temperatures transforms forests, wetlands and tundra into additional sources of greenhouse gases. These emissions further heat the planet and maintain a vicious circle that could add 0.2 to 0.4°C to global temperature by the end of the century. Emissions from natural processes triggered by warming could amplify with ... The post planet enters a vicious circle: Nature could amplify global warming by up to 30% appeared first on spotmed…
Climate ‘Feedback Loops’ Could Worsen Global Warming By 30%, Study Finds
Photograph: Mast Irham/EPA Rising global temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels are transforming the world’s forests, wetlands and tundra to the point they are releasing emissions that could further worsen global heating by as much as 30%, a new study has found. As the world heats up, permafrost in the high latitudes is […]
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