UMD Researchers Contribute to Report Showing Record-High Fossil Fuel Emissions

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025—reaching a record high, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project. 

Overall, an estimated 38.1 billion metric tons of fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) will be emitted this year, according to the report, whose co-authors include University of Maryland Global Ecology Lab researchers Professor George Hurtt, Associate Research Professor Louise Chini, Assistant Research Professor Lei Ma and NASA research scientist and UMD Adjunct Professor Ben Poulter, all of the Department of Geographical Sciences.

While decarbonization of energy systems and a switch to sustainable fuels is progressing in many countries, it is not enough to offset the growth in global energy demand. However, total CO2 emissions are projected to be slightly lower in 2025 than last year, an overall drop that resulted in a decline in emissions from land-use change.

This year’s report, published alongside a new paper in Nature, examines the impact of climate change on land and ocean carbon sinks (natural reservoirs such as tundra, swamps and the ocean itself that absorb carbon that might otherwise go into the atmosphere). It finds that 8% of the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration since 1960 is due to climate change weakening these land and ocean sinks.

In addition to the Global Ecology Lab (UMD-GEL), team members hail from nearly 100 institutions worldwide including the University of Exeter, CICERO Center for International Climate Research and Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich.

“The UMD-GEL lab has contributed significantly to this important global report for years, by providing both global land-use forcing data and terrestrial carbon cycle modeling,” Hurtt said.