Accounting for over 20% of global emissions, deforestation is a major cause of global warming. In fact, it produces more emissions than the entire global transportation sector. Further, deforestation destroys the local biodiversity of a region, reduces and degrades water supply and soil quality and destroys local communities – all major factors that create and perpetuate poverty. The rate that we are logging is at an unsustainable pace and only increasingly globally. A quarter of the forest lost in the last 10,000 years has been destroyed in the last 30 years.
In order for us to effectively stabilize the climate, we must take a multi-sector approach. Protecting our world’s remaining forests is just as important as shifting to renewable energy and agressively pursuing low-carbon fuels. Forests have the potential to contribute to nearly 15% of the reductions necessary, but with nearly 50% of our remaining forests in Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa, it will take an massive international effort to effectively slow deforestation.
If developed with careful consideration and the participation of all affected parties, an international climate agreement has the potential to both protect the forests, and preserve the culture and traditions of the Indigenous and Forest Peoples that depend on these lands.
If you’d like to learn more and get involved in ensuring that forests are included in our steps to stop climate change check out our fact sheets and organizing resources.
