Contribution of anthropogenic CO₂ in China to global radiative forcing and its offset by the ecosystem during 2000–2015

Abstract

Abstract As the world's largest developing country, quantifying China's CO 2 contribution to global warming is important for assessing the climate effects of anthropogenic and natural factors. We used global CO 2 assimilation data from 2000 to 2015 and a carbon–climate parameterized scheme to analyze anthropogenic carbon emissions and their climatic effects while considering the climate effects of the terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink. Three results are notable: (1) From 2000 to 2015, global anthropogenic emissions increased from 2.48 to 3.45 mol m −2 , and net emission (sum of anthropogenic and natural emissions) rose from 1.24 to 2.51 mol m −2 ; China's contribution of anthropogenic emissions to global anthropogenic emission was 34.78% and to net emission 39.65%. (2) By 2015, radiative forcing (RF) caused by CO 2 absorption in the global terrestrial ecosystem was −0.18 Wm −2 , and this offset accounts for 30.96% of the warming effect of global anthropogenic carbon emissions; in China, RF caused by the terrestrial ecosystem was −0.04 Wm −2 , and this offset accounts for 20.27% of the warming effect of China's anthropogenic carbon emissions. (3) Using CO 2 assimilation data and sectoral inventory data, China's contribution of carbon emissions to global RF was 10.02% and 9.73%, respectively, and China's contribution of net RF to global RF was 7.93%. Our findings highlight the importance of ecosystems on mitigating climate warming.