Mining fuels global deforestation and CO₂ surge: Study warns of climate risks
Forests are often called the lungs of our planet, absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide and playing a crucial role in regulating the climate. But what happens when mining operations carve through these vital ecosystems?
A recent study conducted by researchers Avinash Kumar Ranjan and Prof. Amit Kumar Gorai of the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, sheds light on this pressing issue, revealing via satellite datasets that mining activities cleared an area of forest almost the size of Kuwait or Eswatini country between 2000 and 2019.
This deforestation has not only released massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere but also weakened the planet's ability to combat climate change.
The findings, published in the Journal of Environmental Management, raise urgent questions: How can we balance the demand for minerals with the need to protect forests? And what steps must be taken to prevent further environmental damage?
The research estimated that globally 16,785 km2 mining-induced deforestation has led to the release of approximately 490 million tons of CO₂, almost equivalent to Brazil's or more than Australia's and South Africa's annual emissions in 2023. Furthermore, this deforestation has reduced the planet's ability to absorb carbon by 36 million tons annually, an amount that offsets the emissions of 8 million cars each year.
Figure 1: Location—Rajmahal Hills (Barharwa), India; Date—September 2023; Image taken by Avinash Kumar Ranjan during field visits, showing vegetation destruction and landscape transformation due to stone mining. Credit: Avinash Kumar Ranjan
Figure 2: (a) FCL across different countries due to mining activity (Note: country with value zero is removed from map. Map not to scale), (b) Top 10 countries with highest FCL across the globe due to mining activity, and (c) FCL across different continents due to mining activity. (Source: Ranjan and Gorai, 2024). Credit: Journal of Environmental Management (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123271
Figure 3: (a) CSL due to mining-induced FCL across different countries (Note: country with zero CO2 emissions is excluded from the map. Map not to scale), (b) Top 10 countries with CSL emissions across the globe due to mining activity, and (c) CSL across different continents due to mining activity. (Source: Ranjan and Gorai, 2024). Credit: Journal of Environmental Management (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123271