Canada Wildfires Last Year Released More Carbon Than Several Countries, According to Reuters

By Gloria Dickie

Wildfires that ravaged Canada’s forests last year emitted more greenhouse gases than some of the top polluting countries, according to a study released on Wednesday. This raises concerns about national emissions budgets that assume forests will function as carbon sinks.

The research, published in the journal Nature, indicated that the carbon emissions from last year’s wildfires totaled 647 megatonnes, surpassing the emissions of seven of the ten largest national emitters in 2022, including Germany, Japan, and Russia. Only China, India, and the United States had higher emissions during that time frame, suggesting that if Canada’s wildfires were considered a nation, they would rank as the fourth largest emitter globally.

Typically, carbon emissions from Canadian forest fires over the past decade have ranged from 29 to 121 megatonnes. However, climate change, exacerbated by fossil fuel combustion, is resulting in hotter and drier conditions that contribute to severe wildfires. In 2023, these fires consumed 15 million hectares (37 million acres) of Canadian forests, accounting for approximately 4% of the forested area.

These findings underscore the growing concern regarding the reliance on forests as long-term carbon sinks. Instead of mitigating climate change, wildfires could exacerbate the problem as they release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

The study raises doubts about the accuracy of the global carbon budget, which estimates how much greenhouse gas the world can emit while limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.

"If our aim is to truly reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, we must reconsider how much carbon we allow to be emitted through our economy, in relation to the amount of carbon that forests are actually absorbing," stated Brendan Byrne, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and author of the study.

The unusually high temperatures experienced in Canada during 2023 are expected to become more frequent by the 2050s, which could lead to intensified wildfires across the expansive 347 million hectares (857 million acres) of woodlands that are crucial for carbon storage.

Notably, the increased carbon output from wildfires is not included in Canada’s annual greenhouse gas emissions inventory. Carbon emissions from human activities, such as industrial processes, are accounted for, while natural disturbances in forests, like wildfires and insect infestations, are not captured in the country’s 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution Strategy.

"The atmosphere registers this carbon increase, irrespective of how we define our accounting practices," Byrne explained.