Why are CO2 levels rising? Don’t the forests and oceans absorb a great deal of CO2?
Growth in energy use – and therefore CO2 emissions emitted by burning fossil fuel – is strongly linked to global economic growth, which is in turn linked to population growth and development. The world is developing extremely quickly particularly in large newly industrializing economies like China and India, which have added to the previous CO2 emissions from more mature industrialized economies. The world’s population at the same time has been explosive – from approximately 3 billion in the mid-20th century to more than 6 billion today, also increasing the demand for energy. This is also exacerbated by another factor, particularly in countries in South America and parts of Asia, namely the effect of deforestation on climate change and natural greenhouse gas absorption, particularly as land use changes from natural habitat to either agricultural or industrial use. As emissions continue to rise and the ability of the land biosphere and oceans to absorb CO2 is diminished, CO2 concentrati
