Based on median estimates, an annual average of 5.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) was added to the earth's atmosphere in each year of the 2010s. A total of 11 gigatons of CO2 was added via the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use (such as deforestation for agriculture), while 5.9 gigatons was absorbed by the land and ocean. This process is known as the carbon cycle, and has regulated the balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide in our atmosphere for billions of years. However, human activity in recent centuries has seen the balance between CO2 emissions and CO2 uptake shift dramatically, causing a higher excess of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which prevents heat from escaping and leads to a quicker rise in ocean and surface temperatures.
Annual average carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide uptake by broad source in the period from 2010 to 2019
(in gigatons of carbon dioxide)
An additional figure of 0.1 gigatons of CO2 was given for volcanic or seismic activity.
For display purposes, estimates for ocean and land uptake have been given as negative values.
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Earth System Science Data. (January 1, 2020). Annual average carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide uptake by broad source in the period from 2010 to 2019 (in gigatons of carbon dioxide) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347280/carbon-emissions-uptake-broad-source/
Earth System Science Data. "Annual average carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide uptake by broad source in the period from 2010 to 2019 (in gigatons of carbon dioxide)." Chart. January 1, 2020. Statista. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347280/carbon-emissions-uptake-broad-source/
Earth System Science Data. (2020). Annual average carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide uptake by broad source in the period from 2010 to 2019 (in gigatons of carbon dioxide). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347280/carbon-emissions-uptake-broad-source/
Earth System Science Data. "Annual Average Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Carbon Dioxide Uptake by Broad Source in The Period from 2010 to 2019 (in Gigatons of Carbon Dioxide)." Statista, Statista Inc., 1 Jan 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347280/carbon-emissions-uptake-broad-source/
Earth System Science Data, Annual average carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide uptake by broad source in the period from 2010 to 2019 (in gigatons of carbon dioxide) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347280/carbon-emissions-uptake-broad-source/ (last visited July 22, 2024)
Annual average carbon dioxide emissions and carbon dioxide uptake by broad source in the period from 2010 to 2019 (in gigatons of carbon dioxide) [Graph], Earth System Science Data, January 1, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1347280/carbon-emissions-uptake-broad-source/
