“Maintaining forests is the result of genuine effort, investment, and protection capacity,” says Maria Vincenza Chiriacò, CMCC researcher and an expert in COP negotiations on land use and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, as she emphasises that forests should not be taken for granted: they require organised interventions which need to be addressed at COP30. “Global forests continue to face deforestation and degradation, mainly driven by climate change- and land-use-expanding commodity production. As climate change accelerates, the risk for regions already prone to extreme events such as wildfires increases dramatically. We have to optimize efforts and financial resources, and science holds the key to this process.”