Destruction of world's forests increased sharply in 2020

Calls for forests to be high on Cop26 agenda after loss of 42,000 sq km of tree cover in key tropical regions

The rate at which the world's forests are being destroyed increased sharply last year, with at least 42,000 sq km of tree cover lost in key tropical regions.

According to data from the University of Maryland and the online monitoring platform Global Forest Watch, the loss was well above the average for the last 20 years, with 2020 the third worst year for forest destruction since 2002 when comparable monitoring began.