Dark boreal forests of Canada absorb enough heat to cancel up to a 5th of their climate benefit, scientists warn

Dense evergreen plantations in Canada's boreal forest absorb so much winter sunlight that the resulting surface warming can offset 6% to 20% of the climate benefit they are credited with. Canada's current carbon accounting frameworks measure the carbon stored but largely omit the heat absorbed by these forests, according to a new policy brief from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

Dense evergreen plantations in Canada's boreal forest absorb so much winter sunlight that the resulting surface warming can offset 6% to 20% of the climate benefit they are credited with. Canada's current carbon accounting frameworks measure the carbon stored but largely omit the heat absorbed by these forests, according to a new policy brief from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The result is inflated mitigation estimates and public investment in forests that may not deliver the cooling they promise.

Summarised by Agaah from Phys.org. Agaah aggregates 36 sources and removes duplicate coverage — all news, one place.