Fire. Oil palm. Cattle. Soy. Rubber. Wood. unique data from Global Forest Watch shows that forest destruction is on the rise globally,in spite of a slate of pledges and commitments.
Two years ago the world signed the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. It included specific pledges to “conserve and enhance” the world’s forests in order to combat rising temperatures. But in the final two years – 2015 and 2016 – we’ve lost enough trees to cover 493716 square kilometres, according to satellite data recently released by Global Forest Watch (GFW). This is nearly equal to the entirety of Spain – or about four Englands.
Currently, or deforestation accounts for around 10-15% of annual global carbon emissions. Even as combating deforestation has long been seen as one of the cheapest ways to tackle global warming,GFW’s data shows just how far we own to go.
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Source: theguardian.com