Carbon emission from tropical forests

• A new study says that carbon impacts from the loss of intact tropical forests have been grossly underreported.

About the study

• The study has calculated new figures relating to intact forest lost between 2000-2013.
• It has found that the long-term net carbon impacts, through 2050, are six times the current estimates.
• Conventionally, only carbon emissions from readily observed forest clearance are considered.
• This study accounted for less readily observed degradation processes that follow forest clearance – selective logging, edge effects, and defaunation.

Forgone carbon removal

• Another metric used in the new study is “forgone carbon removal”.
• Forgone removals are an estimate of the amount of carbon that cleared or degraded forests could have sequestered had they remained intact beyond 2000.
• Full accounting of these additional factors led to a 626% increase in cumulative net carbon impact from intact forest loss, the study says.