Can Planting Trees Help Fight Climate Change?

Is planting trees a solution to global warming? Recent studies have looked into the possibility of planting billions of, or even a trillion, trees as a low-tech solution to climate change. But is planting that many trees feasible and worthwhile, considering all factors?

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Studies have suggested that planting a trillion trees could significantly reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and fight climate change. However, some scientists say we should not place too much faith in trees to save us, with climate change events increasing rapidly in frequency and severity. Is planting trees a worthwhile solution?

To fight climate change humanity needs to stop emitting greenhouse gases right away. We urgently need to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, but at this point simply stopping all our emissions is no longer enough.

Humans have emitted so much co2 that we are almost certain to miss our target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees to 2 degrees Celsius, and reaching even this target won't stop climate change. To do that we must actively remove co2 from the atmosphere.

Many technological approaches have been suggested but trees are a low-tech and obvious solution. A tree absorbs co2 through its leaves and converts it into carbohydrates, which provide energy for it to grow. The tree stores absorbed carbon for as long as it lives - for decades or even centuries. Trees therefore are a natural carbon sink. Knowing this it follows that we need to stop deforestation as soon as possible.

Deforestation is actually one of the most significant sources of carbon dioxide; when trees are cut down much of the carbon they store enters the atmosphere. In 2017 deforestation created 4 billion tons of co2 out of a global total that year of 41 billion tons. That's nearly 10 percent of annual emissions that could be reduced if we stopped cutting down trees.

But back to planting trees there are some concerns about the viability of planting trees at a huge scale. One issue in debate is the trees are dark particularly compared to other elements found on the ground like snow or grass planting large swaths of trees would make the land area darker. In turn this would trap more of the sun's heat since dark surfaces absorb more of it so, it's a delicate balance here between trapping heat and absorbing carbon. Planting trees may therefore only help fight climate change in certain areas.

Studies have shown that the best place to plant new trees is in the tropics where trees grow faster and trap more carbon. Planting trees also presents practical economic and feasibility considerations, as planting lots of trees potentially can displace people on flat ground and rugged and steep areas are not a suitable for forest growth. Planting trees can also add to water scarcity in dry areas as they suck up so much of it. So can trees really help to solve the climate crisis with specific considerations?

It seems clear that planting trees and ending deforestation should certainly be a part of the plan for fighting climate change. However, tree planting alone cannot reverse climate change. It must be used in conjunction with other methods including replacing fossil fuels with green energy sources and with technological methods of carbon sequestration, which we must continue to research and develop.

Studies suggest that natural solutions such as tree planting could help eliminate around 30 percent of the co2 we emit every year and that's a good start. Follow the links above to see how you can help plant some trees!

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