Why forests are essential for a habitable planet

The document highlights the critical link between nature conservation and climate change, noting that deforestation contributes approximately 12% of annual global carbon emissions and half the world's population faces water shortages. It criticizes the lack of corporate and financial integration of these risks, citing that 37% of firms ignore water issues and 48% ignore forests in investment decisions. The authors call for financial institutions to disclose their impacts on water and forests and to set reduction targets to avoid stranded assets and mitigate the dual crises of nature and climate.

• Deforestation and water scarcity are significant global crises, with deforestation accounting for roughly 12% of annual global carbon emissions and half of the global population experiencing water shortages.
• There is a significant gap in how companies prioritize nature compared to climate change; in 2021, 13,100 companies disclosed to CDP on climate change, while only 3,370 disclosed on water and 865 on forests.
• A substantial proportion of firms fail to incorporate nature-related risks into their financial planning, with 37% neglecting water issues and 48% neglecting forests in investment decisions.
• The financial risk of ignoring water issues is high, as water risk factors have already led to stranded assets in the energy, mining, and oil and gas sectors, with potential financial impacts exceeding the cost of mitigation by over five times.
• Freshwater biodiversity has declined by 84% since the 1970s, and more than half of the world's tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s, with over one hectare lost or degraded every second.

APA

Maddox, T., Lamb, C., & Sokolowski, A. (2022). Why forests are essential for a habitable planet. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/opinion-protect-forests-and-water-security-for-a-habitable-planet/

Chicago

Maddox, Thomas, Cate Lamb, and Amir Sokolowski. Why forests are essential for a habitable planet. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/opinion-protect-forests-and-water-security-for-a-habitable-planet/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Maddox |first1=Thomas |last2=Lamb |first2=Cate |last3=Sokolowski |first3=Amir |title=Why forests are essential for a habitable planet |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=28 March 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/opinion-protect-forests-and-water-security-for-a-habitable-planet/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{maddox2022why, author = {Maddox, Thomas and Lamb, Cate and Sokolowski, Amir}, title = {{Why forests are essential for a habitable planet}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/nature-and-biodiversity/opinion-protect-forests-and-water-security-for-a-habitable-planet/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }