China’s Tropical Deforestation and Emissions Footprint From Its Agricultural and Timber Imports
By The Forest Policy, Trade, and Finance Initiative View PublicationChina’s strong domestic forest conservation policies have ensured its national forests are making a major contribution to global afforestation and reforestation efforts, as well as internal climate goals. However, there has been no official mention of emissions and deforestation linked to China’s timber and agricultural imports (known as “embedded emissions”). This is despite China being the world’s primary or second main importer of the three main commodities (soy, beef, and palm oil) driving tropical deforestation, much of it illegal.
This report assesses China’s embedded tropical deforestation and emissions footprint linked to its agricultural and plantation forestry imports. These calculations are based on a major global analysis and database of deforestation and carbon emission impacts of the international trade in agricultural and timber products, augmented by Forest Trends’ (2021) analysis of the extent and nature of illegal tropical deforestation.