From the Amazon rainforest to the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere, forests play a crucial role in absorbing planet-warming carbon dioxide as the world faces a race against time to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
Forests are the largest carbon sinks on land, removing approximately 7.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year from the atmosphere, which is around one-and-a-half times the average annual emissions of the United States.
Governments are taking action to protect these natural stores of carbon dioxide, with more than 140 countries pledging at last year's U.N. COP26 talks to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, although a recent analysis found they are not on track.