Blog home/Climate
Climate
Search the GFW Blog

Learn about the role forests play in the global climate.

{totalPosts} articles under the Climate category

tree seedlings growing sequester carbon

New Global Maps Estimate Forest Carbon Fluxes in Unprecedented Detail

What you need to know about how GFW’s carbon flux data was created and how it differs from the other estimates out there.

forest-landscape-vietnam-terry-sunderland-CIFOR

Forests Absorb Twice as Much Carbon as They Emit Each Year

New data maps global carbon flux in forests, letting us quantify CO2 emissions and sequestration in local forests or countries to continents.

naturally regenerating forest

Young Forests Capture Carbon Quicker than Previously Thought

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

Bobcat fire Los Angeles

6 Graphics Explain the Climate Feedback Loop Fueling US Fires

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

A farm landscape sits near a national park in Costa Rica

Climate Change Will Alter Forests as We Know Them

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

3572010709_120c0dda13_o

10 Big Changes for Forests Over the Last Decade

The last decade was pivotal for the world’s forests. The 2010s saw the rise of unprecedented new commitments — from governments and the private sector alike — to bring deforestation to heel. The UN REDD+ framework, the New York Declaration on Forests and the Sustainable Development Goals set out ambitious targets to conserve and restore millions […]

Madagascar

A Carbon-Neutral Land Sector by 2040? Here’s How to Get There

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 […]

32658647527_9e69cde20c_h

Hundreds of US Communities are Making Climate Action Plans, but Few Include Forests

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. […]

43435024024_42c823df0d_k

Forests in the IPCC Special Report on Land Use: 7 Things to Know

The IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems has just been released.  One thing you don’t see in the title is any reference to “forests” or “deforestation.” As in much of the summary of the report itself, forests are swept into the broader […]

21_Cyathea_Papua_Rain_Forest_Papua-Indonesia

Indonesia Reduces Deforestation, Norway to Pay Up

Indonesia was one of the few tropical nations to reduce its deforestation rates in 2017, and it’s paying off. Norway announced on February 16 that it will provide the first results-based payment to Indonesia as part of a REDD+ agreement the two nations established in 2010. REDD+, which stands for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, is a framework […]

Costa Rican Forest

By the Numbers: The Value of Tropical Forests in the Climate Change Equation

Protecting tropical forests is essential for achieving the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Global Forest Watch Climate recently released estimated carbon dioxide emissions associated with the 2017 tropical tree cover loss data, and the numbers demonstrate more of what we already knew. If tropical tree cover loss continues at the current rate, it will be nearly impossible to keep warming below the […]

forests

Conserving Forests Could Cut Carbon Emissions As Much As Getting Rid of Every Car on Earth

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! […]