More than half of all species live in tropical forests, which process five times as much carbon annually as humans emit from fossil fuel use. Tropical forests sustain societies, safeguard biodiversity, and help regulate the climate system. Their protection is needed to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. As a result, there is an intense focus on slowing forest loss and restoring new forests. But there is a third, neglected piece of the puzzle: What is happening within remaining forests?  

In this lecture, Simon L. Lewis, Professor of Global Change Science at the University of Leeds and University College London, describes the role of remaining tropical forests in the contemporary Earth system over the past three decades. Using a pan-tropical network of long- term tropical forest inventory plots tracking over 2 million individual trees in 27 countries, Dr. Lewis demonstrates how intact tropical forests have been a globally significant factor in slowing climate change. However, there are hints that all is not well in the world’s last remote tropical forests, and Dr. Lewis also explores tropical forests’ potential to begin accelerating climate change in the future, a scenario that would impact us all.

Extreme heat is deadlier than all other U.S. weather-related hazards combined, with risks increasing due to racial, social and economic inequality, climate change and increased development, which exacerbates the urban heat island effect. During this summer’s record-breaking temperatures, heat-health was at the forefront of the national conversation on climate risk, intersecting with and compounding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic and energy pressures. While research and modeling continue to advance understanding of the characteristics heat in cities, translating this research into sustainability and resiliency policy, practice, and governance remains a challenge. NYC’s experience makes a case for developing actionable science for decision making and the public interest; intentionally using health and climate data to achieve the climate equity goals.