UCLA Report: 2020 Wildfires Wiped Out Years Of Carbon Reduction Efforts
Sonora, CA — A newly published UCLA study looks at the impact of the record-breaking 2020 California wildfire season on greenhouse gas emissions.
4.3 million acres were scarred that year by an estimated 9,900 wildfires.
The UCLA report, published in Environmental Pollution, notes that those fires contributed 127 million megatons of greenhouse gas emissions. Breaking down the numbers, it is nearly the amount put out annually by California’s transportation sector and twice the amount of California’s “emission reductions” spanning from 2003-2019 from state directives and initiatives.
The report could place extra emphasis on wildfires in the coming legislative session as the state lawmakers look to enact policies to reduce carbon emissions, and also deal with fires that have become larger and more frequent over recent decades. California has set a goal of being carbon neutral by 2045 in relation to energy.
The report was compiled with data received from a pair of satellites, and from the California Air Resources Control Board.
