
Plans to pave Brazil’s Trans-Amazonian highway could accelerate deforestation
Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images
Deforestation has pushed the Amazon to the brink of a tipping point that would make it a net source of CO2 and accelerate climate change, according to research using new technology to map the rainforest’s carbon emissions from 2013 to 2022.
Despite historically being a carbon sink, the Amazon biome released more carbon than it absorbed in 2015-16 and 2017-18. Planet Labs reportIt was discovered by a satellite imaging company and the non-profit organization Amazon Conservation.