This article gained prominence due to its timely publication shortly after UNFCCC COP30 (November 2025 in Belém, Brazil), which heavily emphasized tropical forests while largely sidelining grasslands and savannahs. It aligns with the United Nations’ declaration of 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), spotlighting these overlooked ecosystems. Additionally, progress at UNCCD COP16 (December 2024 in Riyadh) on rangelands, combined with ongoing advocacy for integrating grasslands into climate policies, amplified the issue amid growing calls for equitable biome protection in global negotiations.

Persistent Forest Bias in UNFCCC Negotiations

• COP30’s Forest-Centric Focus: Hosted in Brazil (home to the Amazon), the summit prioritized forests, launching the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) with multi-billion-dollar pledges to incentivize preserving intact tropical forests.
• Criticism of Disparity: Despite excitement over TFFF, the conference lacked concrete actions for other biomes like grasslands, perpetuating a “glaring disparity” where forests dominate carbon-focused discussions under UNFCCC.
• Historical Oversight: A 2022 open letter in Science warned that savannahs/grasslands are potentially superior carbon sinks but ignored; three years later (post-COP30), this remains unaddressed.