Protect ancient forests

Ancient forests maintain the balance of life on Earth. They house around two-thirds of the world's land-based species of plants and animals. The remaining tracts of forests influence day-to-day weather and they also help keep the climate stable over time by storing massive amounts of carbon. Logging and burning forests releases that carbon to the atmosphere and creates global warming and climate change.

Major international climate negotiations will decide whether we can keep global warming at less that 2ºC average temperature rise, the safe level recommended by the United Nations. To do this, we have to stop deforestation right now.

Forests are vital for all of us

In addition to storing carbon, forests are essential for biodiversity, which scientists say will help us adapt to climate change in the future by supplying such essentials as water, food and medicine.

We have had some important wins over the last ten years:

• The Brazilian Amazon is benefitting from timber certification and a moratorium on soya crops that are grown in deforested areas.
• The Canadian Great Bear rainforest was protected in 2009 after decade long campaign by Greenpeace, Sierra Club and ForestEthics - a tract of forest the size of Belgium.

But there is a long way to go. To protect the climate and to preserve magnificent ancient forest for future generations we to end deforestation totally by 2015.

Forests for Climate - a solution

Climate negotiations a mechanism for forest protection with funding from developed nations that helps meet their emissions reduction targets. Greenpeace has developed a proposal called Forest for Climate for this to happen in an effective, equitable way.

Read more about the Greenpeace Forest for Climate Proposal.