Losses in Brazil’s primary rainforests up 15% in 2022
Despite accounting for 30 percent of the forests worldwide, Brazil was responsible for 43 percent of the globe’s deforestation last year, retaining its position as the leading nation in forest loss. The destruction of 1.8 million hectares in 2022 resulted in 1.2 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide emissions—2.5 times the country’s annual emissions from fossil fuels.The data can be found in the latest update of the report Global Forest Watch, published this week by environmental think tank World Resources Institute (WRI).Through satellite imagery, it was revealed that the loss of primary forests in the tropical region—where vast humid forests like the Amazon are located—was 10 percent higher in 2022 from 2021. A total of 4.1 million hectares were lost, the equivalent to 11 football fields e...