Forests’ Climate-Cooling Effect Is Greater Than Previously Known

Forests are a powerful, troubled ally in the struggle against climate change. They soak in 29% of the carbon dioxide humanity emits every year—a feat that has kept temperatures from spiking higher than the 1.1°C that they already have. But tropical deforestation gnaws away at this benefit, pushing CO₂ levels higher.

This binary model—carbon in, carbon out—frames many debates about land management in climate policies. It may be too simple, according to a new study in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. That’s because it leaves out other critical but overlooked effects that have an important, perhaps 0.5°C cooling effect on the global climate, a monumental figure given that every 0.1°C matters. Uncurbed deforestation puts this benefit in jeopardy, too.