New trees can either be planted in regions that have been deforested (reforestation) or in places that have never had them before (afforestation). As a result the great ice sheets are melting, contributing to rising seas, and extreme weather events like hurricanes and droughts are becoming more severe.Īll sorts of technological approaches have been proposed, but trees are an obvious contributor. The underlying problem is that our society is releasing greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2), that are warming the Earth’s climate to levels we have never experienced before. Trees will definitely help us slow climate change, but they won’t reverse it on their own.
These figures have been widely criticised as overhyped and unreliable. In particular, last year one research group claimed we can plant a trillion extra trees and remove a quarter of the carbon dioxide currently in the air. However, scientists say we must not place too much faith in trees to save us. Protecting existing forests and planting new ones are surely good things to do. Is it wrong to be hopeful about climate change?.What would happen if all the trees disappeared?.How do you bring a forest back to life?.Even the UK’s Daily Mail, a right-wing newspaper not known for its climate activism, has just launched a campaign encouraging all its readers to plant a tree. Others have attempted far more dramatic feats: in 2016 one Indian state planted 50 million trees in one day, while in July last year Ethiopia claimed to have planted 350 million in a day. The UK government has planted millions of trees over the last decade, and has pledged another million between 20.
George Monbiot, a columnist in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, has founded a campaign called Natural Climate Solutions, which advocates restoring forests and other ecosystems. The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has made a film arguing for extra protections for the world’s forests, and for the replanting of those that have been cut down. The hope is that they will save us from the worst effects of climate change. Suddenly we are all being told to plant trees.
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