Forests and Climate Change

Forests cover about 31 percent of the Earth's land surface and play a very important role in keeping the planet healthy. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow, and they store this carbon in their wood, roots, and leaves. This process helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is one of the main gases responsible for rising global temperatures.

Scientists believe that the world's forests absorb around 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. This is roughly one third of all the carbon dioxide that humans produce by burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. Without forests, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would rise much faster, and the effects of climate change would be more serious.

Tropical rainforests, such as the Amazon in South America, are especially good at storing carbon because they are so large and dense. The Amazon rainforest alone stores an estimated 150 to 200 billion tonnes of carbon. However, when trees are cut down or burned, this stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Deforestation — which means the clearing of forests for farming or building — is now one of the biggest causes of carbon emissions in the world.

Not all forests are the same. Older, more mature forests store more carbon than young forests, because the trees have had more time to grow. Some governments and environmental organisations are now working to protect old forests and to stop them from being cut down. They also recommend that damaged forests should be allowed to grow back naturally, because this is often more effective than planting new trees in different areas.

Planting new trees is still seen as a useful way to fight climate change. Many countries have started large tree-planting programmes as part of their plans to reduce carbon emissions. For example, Ethiopia planted over 350 million trees in a single day in 2019 as part of a national campaign. However, experts suggest that planting trees alone is not enough. The trees need to survive and grow for many years before they can store large amounts of carbon.

Forests also help the environment in other ways. They protect the soil from heavy rain, which reduces flooding in nearby communities. They also keep temperatures lower in the areas around them, because trees release water into the air through their leaves. This process, called transpiration, can make forests feel several degrees cooler than open land nearby.

Despite the important role that forests play, they are under serious pressure around the world. Every year, millions of hectares of forest are lost due to farming, logging, and urban development. Many environmental groups believe that protecting existing forests should be a top priority for governments and businesses. If current rates of deforestation continue, scientists say the Earth could lose a very large part of its remaining forests by the end of this century.

Questions 1–10

Do the following statements agree with the information in the reading passage?

Choose TRUE if the statement agrees with the information.
Choose FALSE if the statement contradicts the information.
Choose NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage.

1 Forests currently cover less than a quarter of the Earth's land surface.
2 Trees store carbon in more than one part of their structure.
3 Forests absorb roughly one third of the carbon dioxide that humans produce each year.
4 The Amazon rainforest produces more carbon dioxide than any other forest in the world.
5 Governments have agreed on an international law to stop deforestation.
6 Older forests are better at storing carbon than younger forests.
7 Ethiopia planted trees as part of a national campaign in 2019.
8 Tree-planting programmes are more expensive than protecting existing forests.
9 Forests make the areas around them warmer by releasing water through their leaves.
10 Scientists warn that continuing deforestation could remove much of the world's remaining forests by 2100.