Canada's wildfires in 2023 released more carbon than some countries

HISTORY: :: BC Wildfire Service

Wildfires in Canada's forests last year released more greenhouse gases than some of the world's highest-emitting countries.

This is according to a study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Across the country, the fires destroyed approximately 37 million acres, or about four percent of Canada's forests.

This corresponds to a total of 647 megatons of carbon, more than seven of the ten largest national emitters in 2022.

The study's author, Brendan Byrne, is an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“In 2023, carbon emitted by fires in Canada was well above the previous record.” // “As if it would rank fourth after the US, China and India.”

Climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is leading to hotter and drier conditions, which in turn promotes extreme wildfires.

Byrne says 2023 could be Canada’s new normal:

BYRNE: “…if we look at climate projections, by the 2050s we're going to expect this to be a normal summer for Canadian forests.”

:: BC Forest Fire Service

The findings reinforce concerns that the world's forests serve as long-term carbon sinks for industrial emissions, although fires may actually make the problem worse.

According to a 2021 strategy, Canada does not include natural phenomena such as wildfires in its annual inventory of greenhouse gas emissions.

Therefore, there are concerns that the global carbon budget may be based on inaccurate calculations.

This budget is the estimated amount of greenhouse gases the world can continue to emit while limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

BYRNE: “These estimates are very uncertain. So if such large changes occur and fires in the boreal forest become more frequent, these natural ecosystems may not be removing as much carbon as expected. To keep carbon dioxide emissions at a certain level, allowable emissions will have to be reduced accordingly.”