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Brazil, the proud future host of the COP30 climate conference later this year, led the planet in tropical forest destruction in 2024. Yes, that’s right, nothing says climate leadership quite like torching your forests at record-breaking rates.
The world outdid itself in 2024, losing the most forest ever recorded, thanks largely to a delightful surge in catastrophic fires. Ah, what sour progress.
According to fresh data from the University of Maryland’s GLAD Lab, via Global Forest Watch, we lost 6.7 million hectares of tropical primary forests last year, EuroNews reports. That’s double 2023’s numbers and just shy of erasing a country the size of Panama. Or, for those who prefer visuals: about 18 football fields every 18 minutes – perfectly paced for despair.
For the first time ever, fires, not farming, took the crown for forest destruction. They incinerated five times more primary forest than the year before. Latin America, as usual, got clobbered. Congratulations to all involved.
All told, these cheery little infernos coughed up 4.1 gigatons of greenhouse gases, four times what every aeroplane on Earth emitted in 2023.
“This level of forest loss is unlike anything we’ve seen in over 20 years of data,” says Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch.
“It’s a global red alert – a collective call to action for every country, every business and every person who cares about a livable planet. Our economies, our communities, our health – none of it can survive without forests.”
But hey, forests burn, right? Natural process and all that. Except, no.
In the tropics, fires are almost entirely human-made. Often sparked to prep land for agriculture, which makes the whole “natural” argument sound extra rich.
2024 was also—surprise!—the hottest year on record, with biblical droughts and El Niño throwing gasoline on the blaze. Entire countries in Latin America logged their worst droughts ever, turning fire control into a losing game of whack-a-mole with a blowtorch.
Recovery? In theory, sure. But with climate change and land conversion tag-teaming the ecosystem, forests don’t bounce back like they used to. Instead, we get a helpful feedback loop of even more fire. Just what we needed.
So, who led the global forest bonfire?
Brazil, of course. As COP30 host, it really went all in, losing 42% of the world’s tropical forest all by itself. Fires from record droughts did most of the heavy lifting, causing 66% of the loss. Farming – looking at you, soy and cattle – also crept up 13%, but apparently that’s still considered “progress” compared to the early 2000s.
“Brazil has made progress under President Lula – but the threat to forests remains,” says Mariana Oliveira of WRI Brasil. “Without sustained investment in community fire prevention, stronger state-level enforcement and a focus on sustainable land use, hard-won gains risk being undone. As Brazil prepares to host COP30, it has a powerful opportunity to put forest protection front and centre on the global stage.”
Yes, nothing screams “powerful opportunity” like being the leading driver of deforestation right before hosting the planet’s biggest climate event. Perfect optics.
Bolivia wasn’t about to be left out of the inferno. It tripled its forest loss in 2024, burning through 1.5 million hectares and jumping ahead of the DRC for the first time, despite having half the forest.
“The damage could take centuries to undo,” notes Stasiek Czaplicki Cabezas, Bolivian researcher and data journalist. “Fires in 2024 left deep scars.”
The Democratic Republic of Congo, despite slipping in the rankings, still had its worst year ever for forest loss, up 150%. Fires scorched nearly half that, proving the Congo Basin can’t catch a break either. Just like the Amazon, it’s meant to help balance the climate. Now it’s becoming another smoke machine.
Colombia joined the forest-loss party too, up almost 50%. But unlike its neighbours, it wasn’t fires—it was political chaos. Broken peace talks gave way to more illegal mining and coca farming. Because apparently, when governance falters, trees pay the bill.
And beyond the tropics? Oh, the fire doesn’t stop there.
Globally, 2024 saw a 5% rise in tree cover loss, a cheeky 30 million hectares. That’s Italy, gone. Fires in Russia and Canada did a lot of the heavy lifting. While boreal forests are used to burning, they’re now burning hotter and longer. Drought and climate change are making sure of that. It’s not just a fire season anymore—it’s a fire lifestyle.
For the first time since Global Forest Watch started counting, fires were raging both in tropical and boreal forests at once. Go, team humanity.
Still with us? Good, there’s a dash of optimism.
Indonesia managed to reduce primary forest loss by 11%, thanks to former President Joko Widodo’s efforts to restore land and suppress fires. A small, flickering candle of sanity.
“We hope the current administration can keep the momentum going,” says Arief Wijaya of WRI Indonesia.
Malaysia, too, saw a 13% drop and finally slipped out of the top 10 for forest loss. Look at that, countries doing something right. It’s almost refreshing.
Back in 2021, 140 world leaders promised to halt deforestation by 2030. To do that, we’d need to reduce deforestation by 20% every year starting immediately. And how’s that going?
Terribly. Out of the 20 countries with the biggest forest areas, 17 are actually worse off than when they signed the deal. So much for global accountability.
What is needed? Stronger fire prevention, deforestation-free supply chains, better enforcement, more funding, and crucially, Indigenous-led efforts. Shocking, right? That people who actually live in and understand the forest might be good at protecting it?
One such effort in Bolivia—the Charagua Lyambae protected area—stood its ground while everything burned around it. Thanks to early warning systems and strict land-use rules, it survived two years of infernos. Actual proof that it can be done.
“Countries have repeatedly pledged to halt deforestation and forest degradation,” says Kelly Levin of the Bezos Earth Fund.
“Yet the data reveal a stark gap between promises made and progress delivered – alongside the growing impacts of a warming world. That should jolt us out of complacency.”
Should it? Yes. Will it? Well… we just lost a forest the size of Italy.
[Source: euronews]
