Pulling Rainforests Back from the Edge
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The concept of planetary tipping points is not new . It was first introduced 20 years ago by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ). At that time , scientists believed global warming needed to reach 5 ° C for the worst to happen , and that solutions could be found in time . But the planet lives out its own truths . This February , the IPCC declared that climate breakdown is accelerating even faster than predicted and at “ only ” 1 ° C to 2 ° C warming . The dreaded tipping points are moving closer , faster .
A tipping point is exactly what it sounds like , except , unlike a see-saw that goes up and down , when planetary disruptions assume critical mass , entire biophysical systems teeter at the edge of a global cliff . It ’ s a long way down and the fall is irreversible . Have we reached that point yet ? Not even the world ’ s top climate scientists know for sure , but alarm bells are ringing louder each year in the scientific community .
( Rainforest Trust board member ) and his colleague Dr . Carlos Nobre announced in 2019 that they PERU believed the Amazon tipping point might have already been reached .
At the current rate of deforestation — from logging , ranching , mining , agriculture and fires — 27 % of the Amazon ’ s tree cover could be lost by 2030 . That ’ s an area twice the size of Texas , and would release unprecedented amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere . Even now , the Amazon is emitting more CO 2 than it absorbs , and still deforestation continues at an alarming rate .
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The health of the Amazon rainforest — an area as large as the contiguous United States — represents one of our planet ’ s most important climate tipping points . A study published in the journal Nature Climate
Change in March found that over the past 20 years , more than three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest has already lost some of its ability to bounce back from disruptions like drought and fire . In fact , world renowned scientists the late Dr . Thomas Lovejoy
Save Rainforests , Save the Planet
Rainforest Trust has been dedicated to saving rainforests for over 30 years because we recognize their importance for preserving biodiversity and stabilizing the climate . Your support has enabled us to work every day with partners in tropical and subtropical landscapes to identify habitats with the
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