Limiting Carbon Emissions from Wildfires in North America’s Boreal Forests

Boreal forests store a huge amount of carbon—about two-thirds of what all forests store combined—so it’s imperative that fires, which release this carbon into the atmosphere, are minimized in these regions.

Fires that occur in US and Canadian boreal forests between now and 2050 could release up to about 3 percent of the remaining global carbon budget—equivalent to the annual emissions of 2.6 billion cars—unless greater investments are made to limit fires in these carbon-rich forests.

The study found that:

• We need to manage boreal forest fires differently—not only to protect people’s lives and property, but also to address climate change, which means investing more in boreal forest fire suppression.
• Fire management in boreal forests is a cost-effective way to reduce emissions, averaging about $12 to avoid 1 ton of carbon emissions.
• The United States should invest an average of $696 million a year over the next decade to keep Alaska’s forest fires and their carbon emissions in check.