In view of this finding, the study, whose conclusions are published this Friday in the journal ‘One Earth’, underlines the urgency of responding to the climate crisis and acting “both in research and in policy” to reduce “immediately and massive” emissions and limit future warming.
In climatology, climate feedback loops are processes that can amplify or decrease the effects of greenhouse gas emissions, starting a chain reaction that repeats itself over and over again.
An example of a loop would be the warming of the Arctic, which causes sea ice to melt, which in turn increases warming because seawater absorbs radiation instead of reflecting it.
Some of these loops, the authors point out, are particularly worrying, such as the permafrost loop, in which rising temperatures cause permafrost to thaw, which translates into more carbon dioxide and methane emissions, with the consequent increase of the warm-up
Other potentially dangerous feedbacks are the drying up or smoldering of peatlands and the retreat of forests.
And since these loops may not yet be fully incorporated into climate models, current emission reduction plans may not adequately limit future warming, the study warns.