Britain says 100 countries have committed to ending deforestation
More than 100 countries have come together at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and pledged to end deforestation by 2030, the British government announced on Monday.
Deforestation is the removal of a wide swath of trees from an area that is then converted to non-forest use, a practice that scientists say is fueling climate change. Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, is absorbed by forests, but they are being cleared out around the world because of the high demand for wood and pastoral land.
The countries that committed to ending deforestation are home to more than 85 percent of the Earth's forests, and include the United States, Brazil, China, Colombia, Congo, Russia, and Indonesia. More than $19 billion in public and private funds have been pledged for the plan, The Associated Press reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
The Alps start the countdown to ‘peak glacier extinction’IN THE SPOTLIGHT Central Europe is losing ice faster than anywhere else on Earth. Global warming puts this already bad situation at risk of becoming even worse.
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal



