Fossils show huge carbon emissions harm forests, not ‘green the planet’
A new study of 56-million-year-old fossilized leaves suggests that rapid carbon emissions cause forests to collapse rather than flourish. The findings challenge claims that fossil fuel pollution provides a 'greening' benefit to the planet.
Why it matters
It provides historical evidence that current climate change rates could lead to massive biomass loss and ecosystem collapse, contradicting arguments used by some political figures.
Dead trees near Mammoth Lakes, California, in 2022. Dead trees near Mammoth Lakes, California, in 2022. Climate crisis Fossils show huge carbon emissions harm forests, not ‘green the planet’ Study of 56m-year-old leaves counters claims from Trump administration members of ‘benefits’ of fossil fuel pollution
Prefer the Guardian on Google Adding huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is set to cause the Earth’s forests to wither and die rather than flourish, according to a new study that counters erroneous claims that fossil fuel pollution will green the planet.
An analysis of fossilized leaf cells from a period known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (or PETM), which occurred about 56m years ago, has helped reconstruct how the world’s forests responded when planet-heating gases were previously being released at a rapid rate.
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