Climate change, with its increasing natural disasters, droughts, species extinction, and melting icebergs, is considered one of the greatest challenges of our time. The ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement to keep global warming well below two degrees compared to pre-industrial levels requires a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide (CO2).

Causes of global warming: greenhouse gases and deforestation

Between 1990 and 2017 alone, the warming effect of all long-lived greenhouse gases increased by 41%, with carbon dioxide accounting for 82% of this increase. Greenhouse gases absorb long-wave radiation (heat radiation) emitted by the Earth's surface, clouds, and the atmosphere itself. Normally, this radiation would be released back into space. However, greenhouse gases now radiate heat both towards space and towards the Earth's surface, causing the lower atmosphere to warm up further. A distinction is made between the natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effects. The greatest warming is caused by the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is caused by humans and remains there for a long time, followed by methane and nitrous oxide. These harmful gases originate mainly from the energy industry (e.g., coal-fired power plants), transport, commerce/industry, agriculture, and waste/wastewater.

Between 1990 and 2015, logging and conversion to agricultural land destroyed 239 million hectares of natural forest (21 times the forest area of Germany) and degraded a further 185 million hectares of forest, mainly in the tropics. Deforestation continues to release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. When the forest area in tropical rainforests is reduced by slash-and-burn practices (where forests are cleared and burned to make the land suitable for agriculture), global warming accelerates because the carbon stored in the biomass is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO₂) during combustion. Slash-and-burn practices often destroy the soil flora as well. After clearing, these soils dry out, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide and the much more potent greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere.

Forests as climate saviors?

Forests are currently coming into focus as climate savers because reducing climate-damaging gas emissions has not worked so far. Forests cover 31% of the land surface, but they store almost half of the carbon bound to the earth. This happens through photosynthesis. Plants, especially trees, absorb climate-damaging "CO₂ waste" from the air and store the carbon in their biomass. The way forests are used is therefore an important factor in the fight against global warming. In industrialized countries, the goal is to establish forestry practices that are optimized for climate protection. This means combining the use of wood as a "climate-friendly" raw material with the storage of carbon in forests in a sensible way.

What can each individual do to counteract global deforestation?

• Be aware that our consumption, eating habits, and use of paper and wood have an impact on forests worldwide.
• When constructing buildings, only use wood from responsible forest management. This produces far fewer emissions than when other materials such as plastic, concrete, or cement are used.
• Only buy high-quality, durable wood products from sustainable forestry and no tropical wood.
• Use wood more efficiently and recycle it afterwards.
• Heat wood with modern, efficient stoves that pollute the environment with less particulate matter.
• Advocate for an end to deforestation and forest degradation.
• Plant trees and support the preservation of forest reserves.
• Use paper sparingly and buy recycled paper.