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This week, to coincide with the start of UN climate talks in Poland, scientists from seven nations released a report showing that torching tropical forests to produce palm-oil plantations for biofuel makes climate change worse by killing critical "carbon sinks." From co-author Dr. Neil Burgess of the World Wildlife Fund:

Biofuels are a bad deal for forests, wildlife and the climate if they replace tropical rain forests. In fact, they hasten climate change by removing one of the world's most efficient carbon storage tools--intact tropical rain forests.

The report reveals that it would take 75 to 93 years to save enough carbon emissions to make up for the CO2 released by burning down forests. Researchers also found that it's much worse on peatlands, which are so chock-full of carbon that it would take 600 years before any benefits are seen.