Carbon Budgets

In 2007 a paper by Dr Houghton in the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science described what was at the time known about the Carbon cycle.

The key issue is understanding the processes where carbon fuel is being burnt (sources) adding Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere and where the CO2 is being removed (sinks). This understanding will allow formore accurate prediction of future GHG concentrations and the effects of these on climate change. 

In 2007, understanding where the Carbon emitted from burning fossil fuels goes was (and still is) surprisingly difficult as it only has three place to go: the atmosphere, the oceans and land (plant and soil). 

At the March 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference findings were published which indicate that the Carbon sinks (ocean and land) are slowly losing the battle in absorbing the Carbon released from rising emissions.

The overriding conclusion was that the exchange of heat and CO2 between the atmosphere and the carbon sinks suggest that climate change in inevitable in the next 1000 years.

And let us not forget that there are 1000's of tons of methane, which is a significantly more "potent" GHG, sequestrated in forzen soils and ice. If released the methane will have a more immediate and devastating effect that the burning of Carbon fuels. 

Possibly, the term "global warming" that everyone now shies away from to the more politically correct "climate change" should be reconsidered, as warming will be the trigger to release these gases.