Postponing action to reduce emissions and to protect and monitor forests could jeopardise climate targets
Forests are the key to decarbonising the earth. Most global climate plans depend on that. But there’s a critical assumption that the world’s forests will stay healthy, undisturbed, and productive. Is that too optimistic an outlook?
That’s one of the key questions that a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) looks into. Titled ‘Hedging our bet on forest permanence for the economic viability of climate targets’, the study finds that a misaccounting of the potentially decreasing ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide can make global…