ChatGPT: All Global Carbon Emissions Likely Absorbed by Trees
By Yudi Sherman
Figures raise pressing questions about carbon taxes.
AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT Tuesday reluctantly admitted that all of the world’s carbon emissions are likely absorbed by trees, raising questions about “climate change” culture and the sacrifices it demands.
ChatGPT, released in November, has been hailed by the World Economic Forum as “the start of the generative AI boom.” Users can chat with ChatGPT, which is programmed to generate automatic responses based on a machine-learning algorithm. The Microsoft-backed program has been confirmed to strongly promote globalist agendas, such as creating a fake study to try to claim there are more than two genders.
We asked ChatGPT several questions, including the number of trees in the world, the amount of carbon emissions absorbed by each tree, and the number of global carbon emissions per year.
The program responded with known estimates. There are over three trillion trees in the world, with the average mature tree absorbing between 48 and 200 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. The trees return oxygen into the atmosphere via the process of photosynthesis.
Around 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere per year, meaning that according to the lowest estimates, trees can absorb over 20 billion more tons of carbon emissions than there actually are.
As ChatGPT calculated: 0.022 metric tons per tree per year x 3.04 trillion trees = 66.88 billion metric tons of CO2 absorbed per year by trees.
But the program was reluctant to make the admission:
This is more than the annual amount of carbon dioxide emitted by human activities, which is around 40 billion metric tons per year. However, it’s important to note that this is a theoretical estimate and assumes that all trees are healthy and actively absorbing carbon dioxide.
Then, ChatGPT tried to claim that “while trees can absorb a significant amount of carbon dioxide, they cannot absorb all of it” because “factors such as deforestation, disease, and climate change can reduce the ability of trees to absorb carbon dioxide.” But when asked for estimates about the number of trees unable to absorb carbon emissions, it had none.
Further, the program tried multiple times to shift the conversation to “greenhouse gas emissions” such as nitrous oxide and methane, which it said trees are unable to absorb.
But this, too, ChatGPT was forced to admit is not true.
“According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global anthropogenic (human-caused) emissions of methane in 2019 were approximately 363 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), while the global anthropogenic emissions of nitrous oxide were approximately 5.4 million MtCO2e,” wrote the chatbot.
This means that the total global methane and nitrous oxide emissions are still less than a billion, easily eliminated by three trillion trees.
“So while the specific amount of nitrous oxide emissions that are reduced by trees and forests is difficult to quantify, it’s clear that trees can play an important role in mitigating the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment,” wrote ChatGPT.
These figures drive a wedge into the notion of a carbon tax, a measure applauded by the World Economic Forum which would tax people for every ton of carbon emitted, including driving, and heavily tax farmers who raise livestock.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implemented a carbon tax in 2019, which has proved to be a boon for the federal government while lightening taxpayers’ pockets. It manifests itself in various ways for Canadian citizens, one of which is a hike in gasoline prices.
The United States Supreme Court last year upheld the Biden administration’s “social cost of carbon” (SCC) initiative, which aims to put a price tag on each ton of carbon emissions. The cost is estimated to be $51, which may be passed on to taxpayers.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon this month railed against Americans who oppose carbon taxes and even proposed eminent domain, which is when the government forcefully appropriates private property, in the name of “climate change”.
Mainstream media have advocated for World War II-style meat rationing to curb carbon emissions.
The United Nations has called for shutting down businesses who emit too much carbon.
New York City this month declared war on meat and dairy — which it is phasing out for its residents — because of their “carbon footprint”.
The city of Louisville, Colorado has banned new gas stations, Wales has ended new road projects, and Danish officials have proposed a meat tax to mitigate carbon emissions.
