Rainforests in Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia absorb huge amounts of greenhouse gases.
"Globally, we are far off track and trending in the wrong direction. Our analysis shows that global deforestation in 2022 was over 1 million hectares above the level needed to be on track to zero deforestation by 2030."In Amazonas state, which is home to over half of Brazil's intact forests, the rate of deforestation has almost doubled over the past three years.
Although Ghana in West Africa has only a small amount of primary forest remaining, it saw a massive 71% increase in losses in 2022, mostly in protected areas. Some of these losses are close to existing cocoa farms. It's a similar story in Malaysia. In both countries, oil palm corporations also appear to be taking action, with some 83% of palm oil refining capacity now operating under no deforestation, no peatland and no exploitation commitments.
"There's an urgency to get a peak and decline in deforestation, even more urgent than the peak and decline in carbon emissions," said Rod Taylor from WRI.