Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Falls to a Five-Year Low

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil fell to a five-year low, the country’s National Institute of Space Research announced on Thursday, a sign that Brazil, which has the biggest share of tropical forest in the world, was making progress on its pledge to halt all deforestation by the end of the decade.

The institute reported that 3,500 square miles had been clear-cut between August 2022 and July 2023, a 22.3 percent decrease from the same period a year earlier. The decline in tree loss is estimated to have reduced the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 7.5 percent. Brazil is the world’s sixth largest emitter, by some measures.