Cool Earth - Importance of Rainforests

Importance of Rainforests

Rainforest destruction is a huge contributor to climate change. It accounts for as many CO₂ emissions as the USA – and more emissions than the entire transport sector. On average, an area of the rainforest roughly the size of Los Angeles disappears every month. Deforestation has a doubly damaging effect: it not only releases into the atmosphere the carbon contained in the trees that are cut down but also reduces the number of trees that can recover the carbon dioxide that humans produce.

Rainforests play a fundamental role in keeping carbon locked away. Carbon stocks equivalent to more than a decade of global fossil fuel emissions are stored in the wood of the Amazon’s trees. It is estimated that the rise in CO₂ in the past would have been 10% faster without the tropical forest carbon sink.

Rainforests also provide many essential services beyond their carbon storage. They provide a home to 350 million people and to two thirds of all living species on the planet. 90% of primates are found in tropical rainforests. They regulate the climate, store water, generate rainfall and help stabilise the soil. All this which we need to survive are under threat if forests are destroyed.