The study highlights the urgent need for behavioral changes to combat climate change, as human activities are rapidly depleting the effectiveness of natural carbon sinks. Gross primary productivity (GPP) measures the carbon dioxide fixed by plants per unit of time and area, and researchers analyzed the drivers of change in GPP to predict future trends. The study found a decline in GPP across 68% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, indicating that many natural carbon sinks are reaching saturation. The main driver of this decline is the reduction in the CO2 fertilization effect, which refers to increased plant growth with higher atmospheric CO2 levels. The study also found that land use changes and environmental factors, such as urbanization and deforestation, have significantly contributed to the decline in GPP. The findings highlight the inadequacy of relying solely on terrestrial carbon sinks for climate change mitigation and emphasize the need for reducing anthropogenic emissions and achieving carbon neutrality to stay within safe climate thresholds.
The world’s natural carbon sinks are rapidly deteriorating, compromising their capacity to absorb life-sustaining CO2.
