This post was updated on December 8, 2020. Not everyone lives in a tropical rainforest — but everyone benefits from them. Home to nearly half of the plants and wildlife on Earth, tropical rainforests perform an essential function for the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, tropical forests are being cut down at an alarming rate across the globe, and releasing more than 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — equivalent to 15 percent of all human-induced carbon emissions . Multiple studies show that climate change is harming tropical forests. But there’s hope. With insight from climate experts, Conservation News explores how the climate crisis is hurting tropical forests — and how humanity can protect them. 1. Changing climate leads to forest degradation. Scientists say that deforestation in the Amazon is pushing this ecosystem to a tipping point at which the forest will gradually turn into dry savanna.…