Tree planting 'has mind-blowing potential' to tackle climate crisis | Environment | The Guardian

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"Research shows a trillion trees could be planted to capture huge amount of carbon dioxide."

Interesting article that reports research showing that global re-forestation could be the number one response to climate change as 1.2tn new trees would absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

However, reversing the current trends of rising greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels and forest destruction and bringing them to zero remains vital.

The research excludes land on which crops are grown and urban areas, but includes land used for grazing, with researchers saying that a few trees per field would be beneficial. The potential grow trees alongside agro-forestry and hedgerows had not been included in the calculations.

Christiana Figueres, former UN climate chief and founder of the Global Optimism group, said: “Finally we have an authoritative assessment of how much land we can and should cover with trees without impinging on food production or living areas. This is hugely important blueprint for governments and private sector.”

René Castro, assistant-director general at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, said: “We now have definitive evidence of the potential land area for re-growing forests, where they could exist and how much carbon they could store.”

Alternative perspectives suggest that estimates of benefit are too high and don’t take account of carbon already present in the land; and avoiding monoculture plantations were essential to ensuring the success of re-forestation initiatives in cutting carbon and encouraging wildlife. It would also be important to respect indigenous and local people.

The study doesn’t address how a global tree planting programme would be delivered and paid for.

But you can help by planting trees in your garden and encouraging local bio-diversity policies.

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