UNECE warns that climate change is driving northern forests toward a critical tipping point and urges COP30 to prioritise forest resilience. Its 2025 Forest Profile reports forests cover 4.14 billion hectares globally, with 42.5% in the UNECE area, and notes half of historic forest loss occurred after 1900. While UNECE countries have added about 60 million hectares since 1990, those gains are threatened by more frequent wildfires, pests and thawing permafrost. UNECE calls for fire prevention, pest management and climate-informed restoration to protect forests as vital carbon sinks.
UN Says Northern Forests Near 'Tipping Point' — Urges COP30 to Prioritise Forest Resilience
UNECE warns that climate change is driving northern forests toward a critical tipping point and urges COP30 to prioritise forest resilience. Its 2025 Forest Profile reports forests cover 4.14 billion hectares globally, with 42.5% in the UNECE area, and notes half of historic forest loss occurred after 1900. While UNECE countries have added about 60 million hectares since 1990, those gains are threatened by more frequent wildfires, pests and thawing permafrost. UNECE calls for fire prevention, pest management and climate-informed restoration to protect forests as vital carbon sinks.
02:15, 06.11.2025Environment
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) warned that climate change is pushing the world’s northern forests toward a critical “tipping point,” and urged leaders at the upcoming COP30 climate summit to place forest resilience at the centre of international climate action.
Forests: a cornerstone of climate stability
UNECE’s 2025 Forest Profile highlights the scale and importance of forests globally: they cover about 4.14 billion hectares (10.23 billion acres), roughly one-third of the Earth’s land surface, and 42.5% of that area lies within the UNECE region. Some 54% of the world’s forests are concentrated in five countries — Brazil, China, Canada, Russia and the United States — with Russia holding the largest area.
"The forests of the northern hemisphere are of crucial importance when it comes to climate," said Paola Deda, director of UNECE’s forests division. "You cannot talk about climate solutions, mitigation and adaptation without talking about forests."
'Tipping point' and mounting risks
Although the world has lost about 203 million hectares of forest since 1990, UNECE countries have recorded a net gain of roughly 60 million hectares — an area about the size of France. UNECE warns, however, that these gains are now jeopardised by record wildfires, widespread pest outbreaks and other climate-driven threats.
The report finds that wildfires are becoming more frequent and more severe due to higher temperatures and drier conditions, while insect outbreaks have damaged millions of hectares. UNECE chief Tatiana Molcean warned that "the rising tide of wildfires and drought is pushing our forests past a critical tipping point," and called on COP30 delegates to recognise forest protection as "a cornerstone of global carbon security." COP30 is due to take place in Belém, Brazil, from November 10-21.
Boreal forests and carbon risk
Boreal forests — the vast woodlands encircling the Arctic, particularly in Russia and Canada — cover about 9.3% of the planet’s land area and store roughly 32% of global terrestrial carbon stocks, with boreal soils holding enormous carbon reserves. UNECE cautions these forests are highly sensitive to warming, thawing permafrost and fires, raising the prospect that once-carbon sinks could become net sources of emissions.
Management and solutions
Experts stress that climate-informed forest management can reduce risk. Kathy Abusow, president of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, said adapting management and species composition to new climate realities is part of the solution. UNECE recommends strengthened fire prevention and preparedness, integrated pest management, active restoration, and targeted measures such as thinning stands and removing excess deadwood to reduce the severity of catastrophic fires and limit carbon releases.
As global leaders prepare for COP30, UNECE urges that forest resilience be elevated from a technical sidebar to a central pillar of climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.