World
Chew on this: when the world eats, the planet suffers
We are forced to see the forest for the trees, as clearing land for agriculture poses a climate threat to the Earth
Converting large areas of land for farming to boost food supplies increases planet-heating emissions and places a greater burden on poorer nations already bearing the brunt of climate change, researchers warned on Tuesday.
A study led by Arizona State University (ASU) analysed about 1,500 large land deals totalling 37million hectares across Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe showed that clearing the land for farming may have emitted about 2.3 gigatons of carbon emissions.
With regulations to limit land conversion or to protect forests, emissions could have been reduced to 0.8 gigatons, according to the study, published this month in the journal Nature Food...
This article is free to read if you register or sign in.
If you have already registered or subscribed, please sign in to continue.
Questions or problems?
Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.