Tropical forest clearing emissions may be “six times higher”

New carbon accounting reveals higher toll of tropical forests clearing

Carbon emissions caused by clearing of the world’s intact tropical forests could be six times higher than previous environmental accounting estimates, a study led by the University of Queensland has found.

It looked at carbon emissions and foregone carbon removals caused by clearing and fragmentation of previously intact tropical forests from 2000 to 2013. The calculations showed the carbon impact of tropical forest loss increased by 626 per cent, or more than six times previous estimates.