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The Woodwell Climate Research Center, the University of Victoria's Polis Institute for Ecological Governance, and the Alaska Venture Fund have partnered to launch the North Fire initiative. According to MIT Tech Review, the initiative has invested several million dollars to study the emissions-reduction effects of interventions such as prescribed burning and rapid fire suppression. The report also notes that Arctic wildfires are accelerating permafrost thaw, turning this permafrost—which stores roughly twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere—into a carbon emissions source; carbon released by Canada's 2023 wildfires exceeded the country's total fossil fuel emissions, global forest fire emissions have risen 60% since 2001, and boreal forest emissions have nearly tripled. The initiative is currently in its launch phase, with no further progress disclosed.
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How Alaska's Wildfires Are Accelerating Permafrost Thaw and Releasing Frozen CarbonDevelopments
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Three institutions partner to launch the North Fire initiative
Source:MIT Tech Review
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Oct 19
MIT Tech Review
How Alaska's Wildfires Are Accelerating Permafrost Thaw and Releasing Frozen Carbon
Arctic wildfires are accelerating permafrost thaw, turning this permafrost—which stores roughly twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere—into a carbon emissions source. The carbon released by Canada's 2023 wildfires exceeded the country's total fossil fuel emissions; global forest fire emissions have risen 60% since 2001, with boreal forests nearly tripling. The Woodwell Climate Research Center, the University of Victoria's Polis Institute, and the Alaska Venture Fund are collaborating on the multi-million-dollar North Fire project to study the emissions-reduction effects of interventions such as prescribed burns and rapid fire suppression.