New research shows natural forest regrowth, as opposed to reforestation by tree planting, can capture more carbon dioxide from the air than previously thought.

Increased emissions lead to higher temperatures and more fire-prone conditions. More fires mean more emissions, fueling rapid climate change.

Fires, pest infestations and stunted tree growth— climate change could have big negative impacts on the forests we know and depend upon.

The Chuckegg Creek wildfire sparked in the province of Alberta, Canada on May 12, 2019. Over the next three months, the blaze burned across 280,000 hectares, forcing more than 10,000 people to evacuate their homes. On the Global Forest Watch(GFW) Fires platform, bright red fire alerts were visible blossoming out across the landscape. Chuckegg Creek […]

The 1.5 mark holds special resonance in the climate struggle. In the Paris Agreement, Parties agreed to try to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius for the best chance at avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. This August, a special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unveiled another 1.5 mark: temperatures over land have already risen […]

Hundreds of communities across the US are developing ambitious climate action plans to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but most overlook a critical piece of the puzzle: trees. Across the US, forests and trees offset 13 percent of national emissions. With improved conservation, restoration and land management, that number could jump to 21 percent. […]

The world is on fire, and not just from forest fires or volcanoes. Across the globe hundreds of fires burn low and slow on dirty fuel beneath the earth, smoldering for decades or even centuries. These fires are known as coal seam fires. They occur underground when a layer of coal in the earth’s crust is ignited. Due to […]

By Susan Minnemeyer, Nancy Harris and Octavia Payne New analysis from The Nature Conservancy, WRI and others estimates that stopping deforestation, restoring forests and improving forestry practices could cost-effectively remove 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, or as much as eliminating 1.5 billion cars—more than all of the cars in the world today! […]

By Nancy Harris and Sarah Alix Mann Between 2001 and 2013, greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation across the world’s tropical forests were, on average, larger than Russia’s economy-wide emissions in 2012. That’s 2,270 million metric tons (Mt) of carbon dioxide every year. Emissions from tropical deforestation have significant implications for implementation of the new national […]

By Jamie Gibson We’re very happy to announce our latest addition to the GFW family: GFW Climate! Working closely with the crew at WRI, we’ve created a bespoke application so you can analyse carbon emissions resulting from deforestation. Back in June we promised you compelling, intuitive visualizations that bring forest carbon data to life: take a look and tell […]

By Nancy Harris, Octavia Payne and Sarah Mann With the world’s appetite for chocolate at an all-time high, producers are looking for new places to grow cacao—the raw ingredient in cocoa and chocolate. Some are turning to South America, where satellite images show one cacao plantation encroaching dramatically on the Amazon rainforest. Historically, much of […]

By Nancy Harris and Jamie Gibson By the time climate negotiators sit down at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Paris this December, a new GFW app will enable anyone to visualise the climate impacts of tropical deforestation. Global Forest Watch (GFW) and Vizzuality have teamed up once again, this time […]