Implicaciones para el sector privado de los efectos no relacionados con el carbono de la deforestación tropical

The document highlights that tropical deforestation contributes 50% more to global warming than carbon emissions alone when biophysical effects are included. These effects—albedo, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, and aerosols—regulate local temperatures and regional rainfall. Deforestation disrupts these processes, leading to decreased crop yields (e.g., a 12% drop in soy productivity in Brazil) and increased heat stress for workers. The authors urge companies and investors to move beyond reputational goals and address these material risks through jurisdictional collaboration, improved spatial analysis, and stricter financial disclosures.

• Tropical deforestation has a significantly larger impact on global warming than previously estimated when accounting for non-carbon biophysical processes, contributing 50% more to global warming than if only carbon emissions were considered.
• Forests influence the climate through four primary non-carbon biophysical processes: albedo (solar energy reflection), evapotranspiration (moisture release that cools the surface), surface roughness (wind turbulence that removes heat), and the release of aerosols (particles that affect cloud formation and ozone).
• Deforestation causes regional disruptions to rainfall patterns, as tropical forests act as 'precipitation basins' that regulate rain across national borders; for instance, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon affects rainfall in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
• Local temperature increases resulting from deforestation can be extreme, potentially exceeding 7.6°C during the hottest part of the day for local communities, which magnifies heat stress for humans, livestock, and crops.
• Deforestation creates direct material risks for the private sector by reducing agricultural productivity; in Brazil, extreme temperature increases from nearby deforestation led to a 12% decrease in soy productivity, costing 99 USD per hectare annually.
• In 2017, Argentina experienced a devastating drought potentially linked to Amazonian deforestation, resulting in crop losses exceeding 1.5 billion dollars and a total economic impact of approximately 4.6 billion dollars.
• Deforestation-induced heat stress reduces labor productivity and threatens worker health; in the Brazilian state of Pará, the number of summer daytime hours suitable for outdoor work without heat stress has decreased by more than one hour per day.
• Despite high-profile commitments, progress in eliminating deforestation from supply chains is uneven, with one-third of the most exposed companies having made no commitments, and investors still holding 40 billion dollars in forest-risk assets.

APA

Gerow, A., & Seymour, F. (n.d.). Implicaciones para el sector privado de los efectos no relacionados con el carbono de la deforestación tropical. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-06/implicaciones-para-sector-privado.pdf

Chicago

Gerow, Alice, and Frances Seymour. Implicaciones para el sector privado de los efectos no relacionados con el carbono de la deforestación tropical. World Resources Institute, n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-06/implicaciones-para-sector-privado.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gerow |first1=Alice |last2=Seymour |first2=Frances |title=Implicaciones para el sector privado de los efectos no relacionados con el carbono de la deforestación tropical |publisher=World Resources Institute |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-06/implicaciones-para-sector-privado.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gerowndimplicaciones, author = {Gerow, Alice and Seymour, Frances}, title = {{Implicaciones para el sector privado de los efectos no relacionados con el carbono de la deforestación tropical}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2023-06/implicaciones-para-sector-privado.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }