This video lays out the problem with animal agriculture and the solution. Fossil fuels are the largest source of CO2 – or so we thought. This video makes the case that deforestation and land use has emitted more CO2 when measured consistently.

IPCC greenhouse accounting rules require the full emission to be measured, for all sources EXCEPT ONE: deforestation CO2. This is an aberration, but consistent accounting finds that the dominant source of carbon emissions is deforestation and other land use, emitting 19% more carbon than fossil fuels since 1750.

Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop, the host of this extremely informative video, says, “We first noticed this when delving into Australia’s greenhouse inventory. Australia has high rates of deforestation, but according to IPCC convention, sectors causing deforestation are gifted carbon credits from natural regrowth on other land. In contrast, fossil fuels are given no such credits even though trees draw down fossil carbon in the same manner.”

This convention has seriously distorted our worldview and policy responses. Fossil fuels must be dealt with, of course, but this measurement convention has seriously diminished our appreciation of nature. Deforestation and other land emissions have been grossly understated, but equally as important, the heroic drawdown role of nature has been obscured. Forests, the biosphere and the oceans have locked away 76% of carbon since 1750, and even now they are still drawing down 65% of carbon emissions each year, despite drawdown recently declining in some forest regions.

Wedderburn-Bisshop adds, “A decision in the late 1980’s to treat carbon emissions differently, depending on their source, has seriously skewed climate science and policy response. Nature has been quietly dealing with our pollution without proper recognition. Expanding that drawdown power is what can save us from this mess, but it will mean bringing back forests and changing land use.”

These results boost the value of forest preservation and avoided deforestation by a factor of 2.8. This will boost support for programs such as REDD+ and carbon markets. It will support more complete climate pathways modelling and biodiversity loss and recovery modelling. The Carbon Budget will be more complete, and we will be able to link full emissions with sectors responsible.

The perspective "Deforestation – a call for consistent carbon accounting" was published in the journal Environmental Research Letters on 1 October 2024. For more info, please visit: https://worldpreservationfoundation.org