Fwd: How Brazil curbed global deforestation

[Loretta Lohman]

Even as rainforests still decline ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Here’s some good news for a change. In 2025 tropical deforestation fell by more than a third after reaching record levels the previous year. Experts welcomed the data with hope — and caution. Tropical forest loss is still 46% higher than ten years ago. Today’s newsletter looks at how Brazil’s 2023 anti-deforestation plan is starting to bear fruit. We also bring you the latest on how climate change impacted Europe’s temperatures, glaciers and oceans last year. Subscribe to Bloomberg for unlimited access to all our stories. Deforestation win By Fabiano Maisonnave Tropical forest loss declined significantly last year, falling 36% after reaching a record level in 2024. Still, the world lost 4.3 million hectares (10.6 million acres) of rainforest — an area roughly the size of Denmark, or more than 11 soccer fields every minute. New data from the University of Maryland, published through the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch, shows that the loss of primary — or mature and largely undisturbed — humid tropical forests slowed down in 2025. But it was still 46% higher than a decade earlier, and last year saw a relative lull in wildfires after an exceptionally bad fire year in 2024. Blazes are increasing in the tropics due to warmer temperatures and more severe droughts.  Outside the tropics, the climate signal was starker. Wildfires burned 5.3 million hectares in Canada, making 2025 the country’s second-worst fire year on record. In France, fire-driven tree-cover loss was the most severe on record, seven times higher than in the previous year.  The analysis uses a broad definition of forest loss that includes not just deforestation for agriculture but also timber harvesting and natural disturbances to forests.  At the COP26 climate summit in 2021, more than 100 countries pledged to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. The world remains far from that goal as agricultural expansion and fires continue to destroy important biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks. Forest loss in 2025 was still about 70% too high for countries to be on track for the deadline, according to the World Resources Institute, or WRI. “Achieving this goal in the coming years will not be easy as forests become more vulnerable to climate change, and as humanity’s demand for food, fuel and materials from forests and the lands they stand on continues to grow,” said Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch at WRI. Smoke rises during a fire in the Brazilian Amazon Photographer: Leonardo Carrato/Bloomberg Brazil, which encompasses two-thirds of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, recorded the largest absolute area of primary forest loss. But it cut that loss by 42% from the previous year. The report attributes the decline to stronger environmental policy and enforcement under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The improvement stands in stark contrast to 2024, when Brazil’s Amazon suffered its worst drought on record, fueling unprecedented forest fires. André Lima, Brazil’s secretary for deforestation control, said in a phone interview that the country’s forest policy rests on “two agendas that are intertwined” — curbing deforestation and controlling fires. He said the government relaunched the federal anti-deforestation plan in 2023 under Lula and is now beginning to see results. Citing Brazil’s official data, Lima said Amazon deforestation fell 50% in 2025 compared with 2022. Read more Still too much 46% How much higher deforestation loss was in 2025, compared to a decade ago, according to the WRI’s Global Forest Watch Word of caution “A good year is a good year, but you need good years forever if you’re going to conserve the tropical rainforest” Matthew Hansen Remote sensing scientist at the University of Maryland and director of the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory Europe’s record 2025 By Laura Millan The world’s fastest-warming continent experienced record heat waves on land and at sea last year. Here are some highlights from the European State of the Climate report released today by the Earth observation agency Copernicus. 🌡️ At least 95% of Europe saw above-average annual temperatures in 2025 🌊 Europe experienced the highest sea-surface temperature on record ❄️ Snow cover was 31% below average across Europe 🔥 Wildfires burnt over 1 million hectares, the largest area on record 💧 Extreme rainfall and flooding were less widespread than in recent years This week’s Zero Zero London Mayor Khan on 10 Years of Wins and Losses Sadiq Khan is about to complete 10 years as London’s mayor. He’s seen the city affected by Brexit, the pandemic and two energy crises. That hasn’t deterred him from deploying some of the strongest air-quality regulations in any city. But he hasn’t yet succeeded in getting enough homes built and struggled to keep improving the train network. As cities keep growing, Khan talks to Akshat Rathi about lessons from London’s successes and failures. As a prominent member of the UK’s Labour Party, Khan also shares his thoughts about the future of the party. The interview was recorded on April 16. Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday. Philippines exit By Greg Ritchie Mirova SA’s flagship green bond fund exited its position in Philippine debt following a corruption scandal that raised concerns investors may have inadvertently financed flood-control projects now under investigation for graft. The asset manager’s €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) Global Green Bond Fund sold all of its holdings of Philippine sustainable bonds over the course of December and January, the latest company disclosures show. The position comprised less than 1% of its total assets, with the bulk of the fund’s investments in Europe. A Mirova spokesperson declined to comment on the divestment. Bloomberg reported in November that the firm, a unit of French banking group BPCE SA, was among global investors reviewing its exposure as the scandal unfolded. Philippine authorities have issued warrants for more than a dozen people in connection with the corruption scheme, including a former lawmaker. Prosecutors allege that as much as 70% of government funds allocated to flood-control projects may have been lost to misappropriation, with politicians receiving kickbacks through collusion with contractors. Read more More from Green Red-state AGs call out credit-rating companies They rose concerns about the use of ESG factors in downgrade decisions. EU relaxes state-aid shackles The bloc wants to give nations more scope to subsidize firms hit hardest by the conflict in Iran. Dallas hail, tornado threats ground flights A powerful band of thunderstorms threatening softball-sized hail, tornadoes and dangerous winds menace Dallas and the US South. 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