The World in 2030

116 The World in 2030
Stopping the loggers is the fastest and cheapest solution
to climate change. So why are global leaders
turning a blind eye to this crisis?
The rampant slashing and burning of tropical forests is
second only to the energy sector as a source of greenhouse
gases according to a report published today by
the Oxford-based Global Canopy Programme, 227 an
alliance of leading rainforest scientists.
Figures from the GCP, summarising the latest findings
from the United Nations, and building on
estimates contained in the Stern Report, show deforestation
accounts for up to 25 per cent of global
emissions of heat-trapping gases, while transport and
industry account for 14 per cent each; and aviation
makes up only 3 per cent of the total. 228
And, what is done with the land once it has been deforested?
Most is used for cattle husbandry. You may be surprised to
learn that cattle themselves are responsible for producing
18 per cent of greenhouse gases, their noted flatulence
leading pugnacious Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary to remark
famously that governments ‘should do something about
cows farting’ 229 rather than pick on his airline (although he
has no reason to be smug; see the section on aviation below).
According to the Christian Science Monitor:
It’s not just the well-known and frequently jokedabout
flatulence and manure of grass-chewing cattle
that’s the problem, according to a recent report
by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the