Global tree loss is undermining tactics to address the climate crisis

By Adam Vaughan

World leaders love to present trees as the answer to our climate change woes. And scientists calculate Earth has room for another 0.9 billion hectares of trees, which could buy us about an extra 20 years to decarbonise our societies as they lock up our emitted carbon. But many countries are terrible at even holding on to their existing, carbon-rich trees.

Satellite data shows the world lost 4.2 million hectares of undisturbed rainforest last year, up 12 per cent on 2019, according to the US …