COP28 has concluded in Dubai, and countries will be taking stock of how much carbon they are emitting into the atmosphere.

Chinese scientists have published new research that suggests including emissions from forest fires into the accounting system.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences calculated that average CO2 emissions per year from forest fires globally reached 1.54 billion tonnes from 2001 to 2022, making forest fires a significant carbon emission source that cannot be ignored. However, they are not included in the current accounting system set by the UN climate body, the IPCC, which mainly looks at post-industrial revolution human activities.