International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 12 Issue: 08 | Aug 2025
p-ISSN: 2395-0072
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AI-Enabled Carbon Sequestration Korri Anirudh Yadav1, Palthya Srinivas Naik2 1Master’s student, Urban planning Department, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
Address: 4, Block-B, Indraprastha Estate, Near ITO, New Delhi – 110002, India
2 Assistant Professor -Urban planning Department, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi
Address: 4, Block-B, Indraprastha Estate, Near ITO, New Delhi – 110002, India ---------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------
Abstract - Anthropogenic CO2 emissions remain near
at 10.1±0.5 GtC/yr and land-use change at 1.0±0.7 GtC/yr, while the atmosphere accumulated 5.9±0.2 GtC (2.79±0.1 ppm), the ocean absorbed 2.9±0.4 GtC, and land took up 2.3±1.0 GtC, yielding an average atmospheric CO2 concentration of 419.31±0.1 ppm (about 52% above the preindustrial 278 ppm) (Friedlingstein et al., 2024). These numbers underscore why global leaders prioritize sequestration, even as ocean and land sinks remove a substantial share of annual emissions, atmospheric CO2 continues to rise, tightening the remaining carbon budget for 1.5–2°C and elevating climate risks across sectors and regions (Friedlingstein et al., 2023; Friedlingstein et al., 2024).Global warming is advancing in lockstep with cumulative emissions, and recent carbon-cycle dynamics highlight growing hazards, in 2023 the atmospheric CO2 growth rate jumped to a record-high 3.37±0.11 ppm at Mauna Loa, 86% above 2022 despite only a modest +0.6% increase in fossil CO2, driven primarily by an unprecedented weakening of the land carbon sink to 0.44±0.21 GtC/yr, with major anomalies in the Amazon, Canada (fires), and Southeast Asia (El Niño influence) (Bastos et al., 2024; Yin et al., 2024). A low-latency synthesis through mid-2024 confirms the persistence of anomalies, attributing the 2023– 2024 spike in atmospheric growth chiefly to a approx. of 2.24 GtC/yr reduction in the net land sink during El Niño, concentrated in tropical regions (Amazon, Central Africa, Southeast Asia), with the year July 2023 July 2024 posting a record 3.66±0.09 ppm/yr growth since 1979 (Yin et al., 2025; Bastos et al., 2024).
record highs, with fossil-fuel-and-cement emissions estimated at 36.1±0.3 GtCO2(1 gigatonne (Gt) = 1 billion metric tonnes.) in 2022 and total anthropogenic emissions (fossil +land-use change) around 40.7±3.2 GtCO2, while atmospheric CO2 averaged 417 ppm in 2022 and rose to 419 ppm in 2023 (51% above pre-industrial) (Friedlingstein et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2023; NOAA, 2024). Emerging analyses indicate the terrestrial carbon sink weakened markedly in 2023, contributing to an anomalously high atmospheric CO2 growth rate and underscoring the vulnerability of nature-based sequestration under compound climate stressors (Yin et al., 2024; Bastos et al., 2024). Rapid urbanization amplifies consumption-based emissions and land-use pressures, yet urban forests can deliver carbon sequestration alongside heat mitigation, air-quality improvement, and public-health co-benefits if survival and growth are verified over time (MEA, 2005; Nowak et al., 2013; IPCC, 2022). However, many planting programs lack robust, long-term monitoring, creating a gap between pledges and realized removals (Seddon et al., 2020). An AI-enabled framework integrating satellite remote sensing, in-situ inventories, and near-real-time emissions datasets can be a potential in conducting city-scale tree census, track health and mortality, and quantify area-level carbon sequestration capacity with uncertainties, enabling transparent net-balance accounting (GRACED, 2021; Tong et al., 2023; Thompson et al., 2023). The framework is globally scalable and directly supports urban planning, capacity building, program verification, and adaptive management in rapidly urbanizing regions. Key Words: AI-enabled carbon sequestration, Urban carbon accounting, Machine learning for ecology, Environmental sustainability.
1. Carbon Sequestration-Why It Matters Now? Carbon sequestration refers to the suite of biological, geological, oceanic, and product pathways that remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it over climate-relevant timescales, thereby reducing atmospheric concentrations and moderating warming trajectories (IPCC framing as reflected in the Global Carbon Budget series) (Friedlingstein et al., 2023; Friedlingstein et al., 2024). In 2023, total anthropogenic CO2 emissions were estimated at 11.1±0.9 GtC/yr (≈40.6±3.2 GtCO2/yr), with fossil emissions
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