Why is stopping deforestation so difficult? with Markus Kröger

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Markus Kröger, who has spent the past two decades researching the political economy of deforestation, resource extraction and global development, with extensive fieldwork in the Amazon and Latin America.

Scientists believe the Amazon may be approaching a tipping point — a threshold beyond which parts of the rainforest could gradually shift into a much drier savanna ecosystem. What's particularly concerning is that this could happen long before the entire forest is lost, with consequences that extend far beyond the Amazon by accelerating climate change and increasing the risk of other tipping points.

So if we know the stakes are this high, why does stopping deforestation seem to be so difficult and so slow? We explore the political and economic forces that keep deforestation going, the interests and mindsets that reinforce these patterns, what Markus has learned from years of fieldwork, and what more hopeful alternatives he sees.

📖 Markus' book Clearcut: Political Economies of Deforestation is available to read for free:https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/clearcut/8BBC0BFBF9AF30A01D4A1F6F6DA8E89C

Further reading

• Sean Mowbray (2026). Deforestation and warming could push Amazon to tipping point by 2040s: Study. Mongabay Conservation News. https://doi.org/10.66709/news-318926

In every episode of Inconvenient Chats, we explore inconvenient—but important—topics related to climate action and sustainability with curiosity and nuance. If you have comments or topic suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at kaisa@inconvenientchats.com.