Nowadays in today's society, whether you are more aware of the environment and climate change or not, almost everyone sees cutting down trees and destroying forests as an important factor contributing to the increasing effects of climate change. It is also taken into account that the conservation and sustainable use of the world's forests will significantly help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or at least their better absorption into the atmosphere.
The Paris Agreement, Adopted by 195 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change late last year, it was an important starting point in recognizing that forests are essential in the fight against climate change. How do sustainable forests help us in the fight against climate change?
Carbon sinks
Forests around the world act as carbon sinks. They "work" for us storing greenhouse gases in your biomass, litter, and soils. The contribution of forests to the fight against climate change is a double-edged sword. This is because the cutting down of trees and the degradation of forests that we cause with our economic activities are responsible for between 10% and 12% of all greenhouse gas emissions. That is, together with agriculture, they are the second leading cause of global warming.
In other words, forests can help us absorb and store excess carbon from the atmosphere, but when trees die, they release CO2 that joins the rest of the emissions. Countries like Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico and South Korea have committed to reducing emissions more than 25% of the usual levels of activities. Furthermore, more than 70% of these voluntary pledges include actions that have to do with forests and their proper care.
Good management for climate change
Scientists say that good resource management and good care of forests and all forest cover can help considerably in the fight against climate change. For example, to give data to help you get an idea, 123 tree seedlings grown for 10 years they can sequester the carbon emitted by a year of driving a car.
The strategy of being able to adopt sustainable development plans in forest matters is of vital importance for developing countries, since the highest volumes of carbon emissions from forest clearing occur in the southern hemisphere. This is mainly because the trees they are cut down to make room for agriculture. In other words, deforest to be able to eat. With agriculture, less developed countries can earn farm income.
An example of this is the use of wood as fuel. About a third of families around the world use it to cook food, while another 764 million people use it to boil and clean water.
Keys to reducing carbon emissions
Almost 75% of tons of CO2 that are discharged into the atmosphere by cutting down the trees for the exploitation of wood, comes from cooking food. More modern and improved kitchens burn less wood, helping to emit less CO2 into the atmosphere. This contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, especially in Africa and in rural areas of Latin America.
It is clear that the key to reducing emissions is sustainability and the use of modern technology that helps the production of ethanol from woody biomass. Use wood products as green building materials. We say ecological since by not burning them they conserve the carbon stored inside.