Research
Human bodies produce 2 billion metric tons of CO2 a year just by staying alive
The Brief
- Humans collectively produce more than 2 billion tonnes of CO2 a year from turning food into energy.
- This is a 74% increase over three decades, largely driven by population growth.
- The exhaled CO2 is part of the natural carbon cycle, unlike fossil fuel emissions.
Why it matters
It separates respiratory CO2 from fossil fuel emissions in the carbon budget, which matters for readers following climate accounting.
- #carbon cycle
- #co2 emissions
- #human metabolism
- #population growth
- #climate science
Humans collectively produce more than 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually just by turning food into energy, a 74% increase over three decades largely driven by population growth. Unlike fossil fuel emissions, however, the CO2 we exhale is part of the natural carbon cycle…