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
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