Forests Archives - Foresight

Putting out the blaze: Wildfire risk management begins well before fire season

As of July 2025, almost 300,000 hectares of forest – an area larger than Luxembourg – has gone up in flames in Europe. What is more, the number of wildfire events could increase by 50% globally by the end of the century due to a combination of changes in climate and land use and management. These threats will tend to concentrate in hotspots such as the Mediterranean, where over 80% of European wildfires occur and which experienced upwards of 2.5 billion euros in wildfire related damages in 2022 alone.

COP29 Spotlight | Agriculture, forestry, and other land use

At COP29 the critical role of agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) as both a catalyst and a provider of potential solutions to rising emissions is of significant importance. “COP29 must lay the groundwork for COP30 by prioritizing sustainable land-use strategies and ensuring stronger commitments to reducing emissions from land use,” says CMCC researcher and member of the Italian delegation to COP29 Matteo Bellotta.

Fanning the flames of wildfire resilience

The frequency and intensity of wildfire events is on the rise due to a combination of climate and land use changes. However, the dominant approach to wildfire management, namely direct reaction and response, is starting to prove both ineffective and in some ways even contributing to megafire events. With researchers increasingly focusing on prevention and preparedness there are new solutions to creating resilient firewise communities.

COP28 | MARIA VINCENZA CHIRIACO’. Agriculture, forests and land use: Here it is the future of carbon sequestration

The Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector is playing a pivotal role in the ongoing climate discussions at COP28, constituting not only a significant contribution to climate change but also possessing substantial potential for its mitigation.

Figures and visuals: A story of the wildfire season

A summary and collection of visual aids that help us better understand the true extent of the 2023 wildfire season in the Northern Hemisphere.

Night firefighters. Original public domain image from Flickr

Analyzing the blaze: climate change and the perfect conditions for wildfires

A spark is not enough to burn a forest. A combination of elements contribute to fuel a wildfire, including weather, climate, and landscape conditions. Valentina Bacciu, researcher at CNR-IBE and CMCC, provides valuable insights into the complex world of wildfires.

What’s under the tree: carbon and journalistic investigations

What’s at the root of carbon credits from forestry? The capacity of forests and forestry to remove CO2 from the atmosphere moves a lot of money but assessing the actual input and output of carbon remains fraught with complexity.

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