Global Carbon Budget 2017 released, supported by MPI-BGC scientists

The annual Global Carbon Budget for 2017 was recently published in the journal Earth System Science Data, after being in discussion since last November. As was the case in previous years, the Global Carbon Project was supported by MPI-BGC scientists Christian Rödenbeck and Sönke Zaehle, who contributed their expertise in atmospheric growth and land net uptake of CO₂.

Both 2015 and 2016 marked record increases in the accumulation of CO₂ in the atmosphere. The record increases originated from record high CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry. At the same time, the land carbon sink had weakened in response to the 2015-2016 El Nino natural climate events.

For 2017, the projected increase of atmospheric CO₂ is lower than in previous record years, because of the end of the El Nino event. The projected rise is nevertheless above the past decadal average, due to ever rising CO₂ emissions. The combined land and ocean carbon sinks can only partially compensate for rising emissions.

The Global Carbon Project is a large international research project and part of the Future Earth initiative on global sustainability. It strives to develop a comprehensive picture of the global carbon cycle, by taking into account both its biophysical and human dimensions, including the interactions and feedbacks between them.