Deforestation is climate action’s blind spot

Beijing–As the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) convened in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon, the world’s focus is narrowly set on carbon emissions and net zero pledges. Yet, this tunnel vision blinds us to the elephant in the room: Ecosystem destruction is not a carbon problem alone—it is the systemic sabotage of the planet’s most powerful climate control mechanism.

Since 2023, extreme weather events have shattered most model projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Meteorologists are grappling with this new reality. Standard climate models were designed for a stable world that we have irrevocably left behind. But wait, there was a crucial omission. The dynamic land-atmosphere water cycle—powerfully mediated by living forests—has inexplicably been relegated to a mere footnote in the carbon story.

Indigenous wisdom has long understood what science is only now proving. Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, who wrote “The Falling Sky,” told me: “Don’t white people see that if they cut down the forest, the rain will dry up?”

This isn’t metaphor—it’s the physics of the biotic pump. Forests function as the beating heart of the hydrological cycle. Trees transpire vast volumes of water vapor, which rises and rapidly condenses into clouds, aided by hygroscopic cloud seeds also emitted by the plants. This intense condensation causes an abrupt drop in atmospheric pressure, which creates a powerful, natural suction force that pulls humid air from the oceans deep into continental interiors.

The biotic pump theory was pioneered by Russian scientists Anastassia Makarieva and Victor Gorshkov, in close cooperation with Brazilian researchers, including myself. Our studies have revealed this mechanism operates globally. In the Amazon, the pump pulls trade winds from the North Atlantic across the equator, penetrating deep into South America. In Siberia, boreal forests maintain the “Eurasian flying rivers”—crucial atmospheric moisture sources for vast portions of China and Central Asia.

When we break the biotic pump, a menacing phenomenon emerges: massive, stagnant bubbles of hot, dry air settle over deforested regions, blocking humidity circulation and triggering desert-like conditions across vast continental areas. This mechanism explains seemingly disconnected catastrophic events: unprecedented heat waves, prolonged droughts, and apocalyptic flooding. The flying rivers of moisture that once circulated healthily over preserved areas are now violently colliding with these atmospheric barriers.

Here is the uncomfortable truth: Even if we zeroed out carbon emissions, the climate emergency would persist without massive ecological restoration. While carbon dioxide is key to long-term warming, ecosystem destruction introduces a dangerous short-term multiplier. By damaging the ocean-atmosphere-land water cycle—effectively the Earth’s air-conditioning system—we drastically amplify the climate’s sensitivity to carbon dioxide. For South-South cooperation and the vision of an ecological civilization to be more than just buzzwords, we must face this reality: Forests aren’t just carbon sinks. They are the planet’s primary climate regulators, its freshwater generators, and the very foundation of continental habitability.

The good news is that nature has the regenerative power to reclaim what was destroyed. Over 400 million years, the biosphere has conquered continents through unconceivably complex and incredibly sophisticated mechanisms. Recognizing this natural prowess must become the gauging sign of our own existential intelligence. Nature had eons to spare; we do not. Yet, we can still choose to learn and give back a helping hand to speed up this regreening.

The stakes are truly global. Just as Amazonian deforestation threatens South America’s water security, the exploitation of Siberian forests endangers the stability of the water cycle for large swaths of Europe and Asia.

Protecting and restoring ecosystems must therefore become an absolute priority alongside reduction in emissions. This mandate requires fundamentally reforming agriculture and cattle ranching, currently the main vectors of destruction. It means recognizing that supply chain restructuring isn’t simply about carbon accounting but about maintaining and restoring the living systems that regulate water, temperature, and climate stability.

Since 2023, the biosphere has shown worrying signs of multiple-organ collapse. But a cure exists. Give forests a chance, and they will heal the climate—and us. This conviction is not naive optimism. It is the practical application of physics, deep ecology, and 4 billion years of evolutionary genius.

The challenge for COP30 is clear, yet momentous: Will we finally acknowledge the elephant in the room? Will we commit—without compromise—to fully restoring our still marvelous green planet? China Daily/Asia News Network

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The Philippine Daily Inquirer is a member of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 22 media titles in the region.