EU Group Claims California Wildfires Released 75M Tons Of CO2

Wildfires in California this summer emitted twice as much carbon dioxide compared to last summer — and far more than any other summer in nearly two decades, the New York Times reported.

Photo Insert: Creek fire, De Luz Road, California

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, an E.U.-backed group, said that blazes in California released more than 75 million metric tons (MMT) of planet-warming carbon dioxide between June and August.

Overall, fires in the West released 130 million tons of CO2 this summer, according to the agency’s estimates. That includes about 17 million tons in Oregon, more than 10 times the amount released last year.

Fires in the Sakha Republic in northeastern Siberia contributed 750 million tons, also double that of the year before. But it’s a small amount compared with the annual worldwide carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, which are expected to total about 33 billion tons this year.

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