Human activity makes forests emit carbon

Oct, 2021



There are 257 forests with Unesco World Heritage status. They cover an area twice the size of Germany and are formally listed, studied and protected for their global scientific and natural significance.



This was the first assessment of exactly how much planet-warming gas they absorb from the atmosphere. It showed that collectively, these forests soak up 190 million tonnes of carbon every year. But it also revealed that human activity has turned some of them into net emitters of carbon.



Illegal logging, agriculture and increasingly frequent wildfires, driven by climate change over the past two decades, have resulted in ten protected forests releasing more greenhouse gas than they absorb.



Just days ahead of the critical UN Climate Conference in Glasgow, the researchers say the world needs to act now to slash the emissions that have turned some of the most protected forests on Earth into sources of planet-warming gas.



词汇表

Unesco World Heritage [juːˈnɛskoʊ]['herɪtɪdʒ] 联合国教科文组织世界遗产

status ['steɪtəs] 身份，地位

assessment [ə'sesmənt] 评估，评价

planet-warming 导致全球变暖的

collectively [kə'lektɪvli] 全体地，共同地

soak up [səʊk] 吸收，吸取

net emitter [ɪ'mɪtə] 净排放源（释放量大于吸收量的事物）

illegal logging [ɪˈliːɡ(ə)l][ˈlɒɡɪŋ] 非法伐木

greenhouse gas [ˈɡriːnˌhaʊs] 温室气体

UN Climate Conference  联合国气候大会

Glasgow [ˈɡlɑ:sɡəu] 格拉斯哥（英国）

slash [slæʃ] 大幅削减，大幅减少



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