Researchers using multiple high-resolution satellite observations have found that carbon loss has more than doubled since 2001 due to forest clearance across the tropics.
Researchers using multiple high-resolution satellite observations have found that carbon loss has more than doubled since 2001 due to forest clearance across the tropics.
The findings are critical because they suggest that existing strategies to reduce forest loss are unsuccessful, and highlighting the importance of monitoring deforestation trends following new pledges made at COP26 in Glasgow.
The study published in Nature Sustainability involved researchers from around the globe, and used high-resolution satellite observations to investigate the trajectory and drivers of forest carbon loss in the 21st century.
The observations found doubling of tropical forest carbon loss worldwide from one billion tonnes of carbon per year in 2001–2005 to two billion tonnes of carbon in 2015–2019. This increase in carbon loss from forest conversion is higher than in previous estimates, which show no trend or a slight decline in land-use emissions in the early 21st century.
Read more at University of Leeds
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