Global forest loss hits record — with CO2 in tow
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Image: Courtesy of the World Resources Institute
Global forest loss hit the highest level on record last year, per detailed University of Maryland and World Resources Institute tracking data.
Why it matters: The CO2 emissions from fires — the largest single cause of forest loss last year — are very high. And losing forests lessens CO2 absorption.
Driving the news: Tropical regions specifically lost 6.7 million hectares (17 million acres) of primary rainforest in 2024, an area roughly the size of Panama.
- Total global tree cover loss reached 30 million hectares (73 million acres) "due to extreme fire seasons outside the tropics in Canada and Russia," the report states.
- But the analysis focuses most heavily on the tropics, noting their importance for biodiversity, carbon storage and regulating regional climates. Brazil and Bolivia saw the largest losses.
Threat level: Fires brought nearly 50% of last year's primary tropical forest loss, the first time in the project's two decades-plus of tracking that this was the leading cause.
- These blazes are a mix of human and climate influences. They're often set on farming land or to clear forests for agriculture, but sometimes spread.
- Last year was the hottest on record, and "extreme conditions fueled by climate change and El Niño made these fires more intense and harder to control."
Stunning stat: Global fires caused 4.1 billion tons of CO2 emissions in 2024, "equivalent to more than 4 times the emissions from air travel in 2023," the analysts write in a blog post.
The bottom line: "It's a global red alert — a collective call to action for every country, every business and every person who cares about a livable planet," Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of WRI's Global Forest Watch, said in a statement.
