Abstract: Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from human activities have caused the planet to warm and have set in motion a train of changes in the natural carbon cycle. Every year, the land and ocean natural carbon reservoirs, the so-called carbon ‘sinks’, absorb 55% on average of the CO2 emissions we put in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and other activities. The carbon sinks slow down the pace of climate change, but they respond themselves to a changing climate by leaving more CO2 in the atmosphere. This lecture will review the latest trends in CO2 emissions including the effect of COVID-19 measures on emissions, and show their current partitioning in the environment. It will discuss the major sources of uncertainties in near-term CO2 emissions and in the long-term capacity of the natural environment to absorb further carbon.

Corinne Le Quéré (University of East Anglia) will present in the
2022 Perspectives on the Climate Change Challenge Seminar Series:

• Most Mondays, Spring Semester 2022, 2:45-4:00pm
• Available via Zoom (ID: 953 9733 0144; Passcode: 024210)
   

This university-wide seminar series is open to the public, and provides important views on the critical issue of climate change, drawing from many perspectives and disciplines. Experts from Cornell University and beyond present an overview of the science of climate change and climate change models, the implications for agriculture, ecosystems, and food systems, and provide important economic, ethical, and policy insights on the issue. The seminar is being organized and sponsored by the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.