Combating deforestation in the Amazon is Brazil’s biggest contribution to tackling climate change. The protection of the forest will account for more than half of the country’s voluntary goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in between 36.1 and 38.9 percent by 2020, announced last November. According to the first National Inventory of Greenhouse Gases, up to 75 percent of Brazil’s emissions come from deforestation and land use change.

In 2009, Brazil’s commitment to halting the destruction of the forest showed historic results. Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon dropped 45.7 percent from August 2008 to July 2009, according to data released by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in November. Estimates based on analysis of satellite imagery show 7,008 square kilometers of forest were cleared in Brazil during the 12-month period, the lowest rate since the government started monitoring deforestation in 1988.

To learn more about how Brazil is playing a lead role in tackling climate change, watch the videos below: