Global deforestation slowed in 2025 but Brazil’s election could undo “fragile” gains

Latin American governments cracked down on forest clearing in 2025, leading global deforestation to fall by the most this decade, but political shifts and the likely impact of a strong El Niño threaten to undo those “fragile” gains, a new report has found.

Seven million hectares of forests - roughly the size of Ireland - were lost last year, a 15% drop from 2024. This marks the first meaningful slowdown in deforestation since 145 countries committed to ending deforestation by 2030 at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, according to an annual assessment of the pledge. 

But the researchers cautioned that the worl


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