The role of forests in climate change

Note: this article was written by Claire Shi

Deforestation is the clearing of forests on a large scale and is one of the biggest environmental problems that is contributing to climate change. Trees are cut down for timber, agriculture, and urban development, but forests are a necessary component in the climate system. As a result, their clearing leads to the emission of carbon, which affects the ability of the planet to sequester greenhouse gases. A study in Nature Climate Change established that deforestation in the tropical regions is responsible for about 10% of the total greenhouse gas emissions.

The role of forests in climate change and support of ecosystems

Forests sequester carbon dioxide in the process of photosynthesis and store it in biomass. This process is useful in controlling carbon in the atmosphere. Tropical forests, including the Amazon, are storehouses of carbon. According to the World Resources Institute, the biosphere holds about 861 gigatonnes of carbon, which is nearly three times the current atmosphere load.

Adding on, deforestation continues to contribute to climate change through clearing forests for agriculture and logging. A major cause of deforestation is burning trees to clear land, producing great amounts of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide, which are harmful greenhouse gases. One example is that the 2019 Amazon wildfires emitted about 392 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is approximately the annual emission of 80 million cars. Thus, it means that with less tree coverage, more carbon is released into the atmosphere and remains to exacerbate global warming.

Moreover, forests are home to most of the world’s land organisms, and their disappearance means that animals have fewer places to live and, thus, population imbalances in the ecosystem. Biodiversity loss also diminishes the capacity of ecosystems to regulate climate and preserve conditions leading to climate stability.

Agriculture, illegal logging, and land expansion are the main motivations for deforestation globally. Aarhus University reported that Brazil experienced a 22% rise in the deforestation of the Amazon in 2023 compared to the year 2022. This increase was attributed to the implementation of policies that promote agricultural development while having weak enforcement of environmental protections. Some efforts have been made on the international level to combat deforestation. For example, at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more than 100 world leaders signed a declaration to protect forests by 2030.

What Can Still Be Done

There are ways to limit deforestation and its effects, but it will take time, which we do not have. The best effective solution, as of now, is to conserve the forests that are still left. This is because many of the ancient forests hold a large amount of carbon and support ecosystems that have existed for hundreds of years. Once they are gone, they cannot be replaced.

Sustainable land use is also important. Agriculture and logging will not stop, but they can be done to minimize the damage. Some companies are making their statements on sustainable supply chain management, and there are still more opportunities to encourage other companies to follow suit through policy advocacy.

Deforestation has already caused a change in climate over the past few years and will continue to do so in the future. However, there is still time to prevent more damage if more importance is given to the protection of forests.