Carbon Sequestration- The Future Way to Meet the Climate Change
80 Pages Posted: 1 Nov 2011
Date Written: October 28, 2011
Abstract
Climate change is one among the major global issues of the twenty first century. Anthropogenic activities have led to notable changes in the earth’s climate including increase in the global temperature over the 20th century by 0.6 ± 0.2oC at an average rate of increase of 0.17 oC decade since 1950, sea level rise over the 20th century of 0.1 to 0.2m, increase in precipitation of 0.5 to 1 % decade, and increase in frequency of extreme events and heavy precipitation by 2 to 4 % (IPCC, 2001). Climate change is attributed to increase in atmospheric concentration of several Green House Gases (GHGs) by fossil fuel combustion, land use change and deforestation and human induced soil degradation. Whereas, the contributions of fossil fuel combustion to increase in atmospheric concentration of GHGs are known, those of terrestrial ecosystems are not widely recognized either in relation to emissions (by deforestation and soil cultivation) or carbon sequestration by ecosystem restoration, conversion to judicious land use and adoption of recommended management practices in managed ecosystems. One way of contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gases in the short term could be a process known as carbon sequestration and this paper introduces the concept based on scientific studies.
Keywords: carbon sequestration, climate change
JEL Classification: Q20, Q30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation