Unless the clearing of tropical forests is halted, the mean global temperature could rise an extra 0.8 °C, even with cuts in emissions from fossil fuels, scientists warn in an article in Nature Communications
The global warming process may be even more intense than originally forecast unless deforestation can be halted, especially in the tropical regions.
This warning has been published in Nature Communications by an international group of scientists. The authors of the text include Brazilians Paulo Artaxo, a professor at the University of São Paulo’s Physics Institute (IF-USP), and Luciana Varanda Rizzo, a professor at the Federal University of São Paulo’s Environmental, Chemical & Pharmaceutical Science Institute (ICAQF-UNIFESP).
“If we go on destroying forests at the current pace – some 7,000 km² per year in the case of Amazonia – in three to four decades, we’ll have a massive accumulated loss. This will intensify global warming regardless of all efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Artaxo told Agência FAPESP.
The findings of the study are based on computer modeling and forest measurements coordinated by Catherine Scott, a researcher at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.
Continue reading at São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
Image via GoAmazon
