An eye-opening new body of research reveals that deforestation is more dangerous for the global and local climate that we thought; cutting down trees immediately heats up and dries out local and regional areas, threatening food supplies, local economies and human health
Following one of the hottest, driest summers on record–marked by scorching fires, record-breaking heat waves and evaporated water supplies–a panel of experts will explain the little-understood yet critical role forests play in shielding these increasingly common climate extremes. They’ll explain why, without forests to protect us, we’ll become even more vulnerable to headline-grabbing climate-related disasters.
Scientists already have a well-established understanding of how tropical deforestation contributes to global climate change through emitting carbon and reducing the ability of the world’s forests to take more carbon out of the atmosphere. But this new body of research shows how tropical deforestation has climate impacts beyond carbon: deforestation immediately increases extreme heat locally and decreases regional and local rainfall. Because it is so new, many policymakers and climate scientists gathering in Glasgow for the climate talks in November are only just beginning to understand these aspects of forest loss.
A new report, to be released on the call, will detail how this phenomenon plays out in the soy fields of Brazil, a hotbed of deforestation beset by skyrocketing temperatures and dry conditions. The study provides new insight into the extent to which removing trees to plant soy ultimately parches soil and harms crops and livestock, threatening agriculture and economies worldwide.
What: Experts will reveal why new science about deforestation’s immediate impacts on local climates is so concerning for everyone–at the hyper-local and global levels. They will provide an overview of latest scientific findings, and suggest what can be done at all levels to protect forests. Planet Tracker will release a new report, No Rain on the Plain: Deforestation threatens Brazil’s agricultural exports, detailing the risks forest loss poses to soy production in Brazil.
When: 16 September at 10 a.m. Eastern//3 p.m. London
Who:
- Deborah Lawrence, Professor, Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
- Frances Seymour, Distinguished Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute
- Peter Elwin, Director of Fixed Income, Head of Land Use Programme, Planet Tracker