In 2019, ecologist Thomas Crowther and his team published a study suggesting that planting a large number of trees could effectively combat climate change, leading to a global trend of tree-planting to offset carbon emissions. The study claimed that there is enough space on Earth for an additional 1.2 trillion trees, making tree restoration the most effective solution for addressing climate change thus far.
At the time, a number of scientists expressed their criticism towards the paper, claiming that it had exaggerated the capacity of trees to absorb carbon and the feasibility of extensively foresting land.
However, the contagious optimism it created was too strong to dissipate. After all, trees appeared to be a simple remedy for our profound climate concerns.
Shell and other major oil companies quickly took advantage of the situation by committing to invest large sums of money in reforestation projects. The social media campaign Team Trees, which aimed to plant 20 million trees, gained widespread popularity and received a significant donation of one million dollars from Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla.
But now the former chief scientific adviser for the United Nation’s Trillion Trees Campaign, Crowther, has reversed their opinion and is now urging environmental leaders to stop mass tree planting. During the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, he highlighted the negative aspects of mass tree planting, including its negative impact on biodiversity and its limited effectiveness in capturing carbon dioxide.
Most insidiously of all, he warned that tree planting is used “as an excuse to avoid cutting emissions,” as quoted by Wired.
“If no one had ever said, ‘Plant a trillion trees,’ I think we’d have been in a lot better space,” he added. “But maybe there wouldn’t have been so much noise and attention on nature, so that all the very responsible scientists who are here could correct it and turn it into something that is good.”
What’s more, Crowther believes that the focus should now be on preserving existing forests rather than planting new ones. According to his research, letting existing woodlands expand and mature naturally will offset around 50 percent more carbon in the long run.
Reference- Wired Article, Futurism, COP28 website, UN Trillion Science, Trees Campaign website