The world’s forests, which once seemed endless and untouchable, are now vanishing at a pace that has alarmed scientists, policymakers, and environmentalists alike. According to the Forest Declaration Assessment published on October 13, 2025, by a coalition of international NGOs, the globe lost 8.3 million hectares of forest in 2024 alone—an area nearly three times the size of Belgium. This sharp uptick from 6.6 million hectares lost in 2022 underscores a troubling acceleration in deforestation, despite high-profile promises to reverse the trend.
Forests are more than just collections of trees. As Gabriel Labbate of the U.N. Environmental Program put it in a recent United Nations report, forests are the “quintessential definition of a public good,” providing habitat for more than 80 percent of all land animals, plants, and insects. They regulate weather patterns, stabilize the global climate, and act as massive carbon sinks, absorbing atmosphere-warming carbon dioxide. Yet, as the Forest Declaration Assessment warns, "Despite years of effort, the world remains off track to meet critical forest targets."
At the 2021 Glasgow Climate Summit, over 140 countries pledged to halt deforestation by 2030. But as the years tick by, the gap between these promises and the harsh reality seems only to widen. Erin Matson of Climate Focus, a co-author of the assessment, did not mince words: “The gap between promises and reality is growing wider each year, with devastating consequences for people, the climate, and the economy.”
The devastation is particularly acute in tropical rainforests, where the expansion of agriculture, road building, and logging continues to ravage delicate ecosystems. In Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, wildfires—many of them deliberately set—have wiped out millions of hectares. In the Amazon alone, fires in 2024 released an estimated 791 million tonnes of CO₂, seven times the annual average. The report’s authors describe these findings as "sobering," and it’s easy to see why.
Wildfires are only part of the problem. Human industries—especially agriculture—are driving deforestation at an unprecedented rate. According to the United Nations report published on October 14, 2025, about 25 million acres of forest are destroyed each year due to a combination of industrial activity and extreme wildfires, which are themselves increasing in frequency and intensity as the planet warms. In just 2023 and 2024, wildfires consumed some 78 million acres worldwide, an area roughly three times the size of Iceland.
The consequences are dire. Forests today absorb only a quarter of the carbon they captured a century ago. This diminished capacity means more carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere, fueling the cycle of climate change and making it even harder to meet international climate goals.
Despite the scale of the crisis, global financial support for forests remains woefully inadequate. The U.N. report found that in 2023, $84 billion was spent globally to protect forests—far below the $300 billion per year that experts say is needed by 2030 to meet climate, biodiversity, and land restoration goals. The report’s analysis, which included data from governments and private institutions, found that private sources contribute less than 10 percent of funding for forest protection. The vast majority comes from governments, with China and the United States accounting for nearly half of all funding. "Forests depend on a lot of taxpayer money," Labbate explained, highlighting the imbalance.
Tropical countries, which harbor some of the world’s most vulnerable forests, are especially strapped for cash. Many are burdened by debt and struggle to invest in conservation. Frances Seymour of the Woodwell Climate Research Center noted, “It is in everybody’s interest to protect the forest. But nobody gets paid for protecting a forest.” The U.N. report found that tropical countries spend on average 36 times more on forest conservation than they receive from international aid—a lopsided equation that leaves these vital ecosystems at risk.
The private sector’s role is also problematic. Companies that the U.N. considers likely to increase deforestation attract nearly $9 trillion in investment annually, more than 1,000 times the amount of private money spent on protecting forests. Agriculture, for example, received $400 billion in subsidies in 2023, even though it is a major driver of deforestation. In the Amazon, a football field-sized area is lost every six seconds to make room for expanding cattle ranches and soy farms.
Carbon markets—systems that allow businesses to offset greenhouse gas emissions by funding conservation projects—have been touted as a solution. Yet, according to the U.N. report, carbon credits represent less than 2 percent of the money spent on forests. This suggests that, at least for now, carbon markets are a drop in the bucket compared to the scale of the problem.
Some recent policy efforts aim to close the funding gap. At the end of September 2025, a coalition of 34 governments released a plan for financing forest conservation, intended to steer discussions at the upcoming COP30 U.N. climate conference in Brazil. Brazil itself announced a $1 billion investment into the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a fund designed to compensate countries for preserving tropical forests. Notably, 20 percent of the money is set aside for Indigenous groups, who have been recognized as among the most effective stewards of the world’s forests.
Still, Indigenous and local groups, who manage over a third of the world’s forests, have received only 13 percent of global forest conservation funding. This disconnect between proven effectiveness and financial support is another sign that the world’s approach to forest protection needs a rethink.
Europe, meanwhile, is facing its own challenges. According to the 'Green to Grey' investigation led by Arena for Journalism in Europe and Norway’s NRK, the continent lost 9,000 km² of natural and agricultural land to urbanization between 2018 and 2023. That’s the equivalent of 600 football pitches disappearing every single day—a sobering reminder that deforestation is not just a tropical problem.
Restoration efforts lag far behind what’s needed. Currently, only 5.4 percent of lost forests are being restored, far below the threshold required to avoid irreversible damage. Ivan Palmegiani, a biodiversity expert at Climate Focus, warned that forests are approaching a “dangerous tipping point” and called for increased international funding to protect them.
The world’s forests are at a crossroads. With every hectare lost, the stakes rise for people, wildlife, and the climate itself. As governments, businesses, and communities gather for COP30 in Brazil, the challenge is clear: Will the world finally put its money—and its will—behind the promises to save its forests, or will the gap between pledges and action continue to widen?
As deforestation accelerates and restoration lags, the fate of the planet’s forests—and all they sustain—hangs in the balance.
