New report
UN: Forests play a key role in combating climate change
Dense Atlantic rainforest on the island of Cardoso off the coast of Brazil. Photo: Ralf Hirschberger/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The United Nations are relying on the world’s forests to combat climate change – and even see economic potential in intact nature. But one thing is clear: there is a lot to do.
The United Nations has underlined the importance of forests in the fight against climate change. Societies and states around the world are being asked to take more care of the forest.
In a report presented on Monday morning, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calls for a halt to deforestation, reforestation of fields and the expansion of forest farming and the sustainable use of forests.
These three actions could “help address crises facing people and the planet, while creating lasting economic benefits, particularly in (often remote) rural communities,” said FAO Director Qu Dongyu.
According to the report, 31 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by forests – that’s 40.6 million square kilometers. From 1990 to 2020, 4.2 million square kilometers were deforested; even if the trend is declining, according to the FAO in the years 2015 to 2020 it was still around 100,000 square kilometers annually.
The forest is not only crucial as a store of gases that are harmful to the climate: the emission of 3.6 billion tons of so-called CO2 equivalents could be avoided annually if deforestation is stopped; that is 14 percent of what needs to be saved to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees by 2030.