Visualizing the Forest Funding Gap Relative to Emissions
The following content is sponsored by The LEAF Coalition
The Briefing
- Deforestation accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions
- Deforestation receives just 2.2% of climate funding
The Forest Funding Gap
Climate change has been referred to as modern day civilization’s greatest challenge. And stopping deforestation is an important step in the battle to stop rising global temperatures. Yet, when you look at the amount of climate funding earmarked for deforestation, something doesn’t add up.
This graphic from The LEAF Coalition looks at the state of global deforestation and compares how much climate funding it receives relative to its global CO2 emissions.
Deforestation’s Role in Global Emissions
Protecting our forests and protecting the climate are one in the same. In fact, the data reveals that tropical deforestation accounts for 10% of global CO2 emissions.
What’s more, these levels of emissions exceed that of all individual countries except for the U.S. and China. Despite this, climate funding towards deforestation only accounts for $14 billion of the over $618 billion available, representing a small 2.2% slice of the total.
This is especially problematic when considering a forest’s carbon stock and carbon sequestration capabilities. Here’s how different forests across the globe compare when looking at gigatonnes of carbon stock.
| Ecosystem | Estimated Carbon Stock (Gt) | Annual Loss Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical moist forests | 295 Gt | 0.45% |
| Boreal forests | 283 Gt | 0.18% |
| Temperate broadleaf forests | 133 Gt | 0.35% |
| Temperate conifer forests | 66 Gt | 0.28% |
| Tropical dry forests | 14 Gt | 0.58% |
| Mangroves | 7.3Gt | 0.13% |
A carbon stock (Read more...)