A new global analysis of forests and their absorption/emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) highlights a disturbing trend. This report, by Global Forest Watch, part of the World Resources Institute, found that forests normally absorb about 30% of GHGs from the burning of fossil fuels, locking the carbon into trees, roots and soil.

There has been a steady decline in carbon absorption by forests over the last 25 years primarily due to wildfires and logging, whether the logging is for timber, crops, pastureland, infrastructure or mining. About 80% of the decline comes from clear-cutting and 20% from fires, although the contribution from fires is steadily increasing. The absorption of GHGs by the world’s forests has gone from 9.5 giga-tonnes of CO2 equivalents to 1.2 in 2024.

Clear cut logging and fires have two basic effects: they release the majority of carbon stored in trees and soil into the atmosphere while at the same time reducing the amount of forest which is available to absorb and store carbon. Primary forests (never disturbed) store much more carbon than secondary forests, while secondary forests, after........

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