US EditionWant to Plant Trees to Offset Fossil Fuels? You'd Need All of North and Central America, Study Finds
UNITED STATES, JUN 19 – Offsetting emissions from the 200 largest fossil fuel companies would require planting trees on more than 24 million square kilometers, an area larger than North America, researchers found.
- Offsetting 182 billion tonnes of carbon from fossil fuel reserves requires planting enough trees to cover an area greater than all of North and Central America combined.
- There is insufficient land available for the afforestation needed to counter fossil fuel emissions, highlighting the necessity for the urgent phase-out of fossil fuels.
- Planting trees cannot replace the urgent need to decarbonize economies.
- Researchers indicated that companies would face financial penalties if they accounted for the social costs of carbon emissions, estimated at about $185 per metric ton of carbon dioxide.
106 Articles
106 Articles
Can We Plant Enough Trees to Offset Fossil Fuel Emissions?
For years, tree planting has been the feel-good fix for climate change. It’s fun believing the idea that we can offset the tons of carbon we’re putting in the atmosphere with a few evergreens here and there. It satisfies our deep psychological need to solve major problems with as little discomfort as humanly possible. But a new study tosses that illusion into a woodchipper. The research, published in Communications Earth & Environment, says that…
Carbon offsetting of fossil fuel emissions through afforestation is limited by financial viability and spatial requirements
Burning the reserves of the 200 largest fossil fuel companies could generate 673 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide, far exceeding the remaining 400-gigatonne budget needed to limit warming to 1.5 °C by 2050. Rapid action is needed to reduce, or where necessary, offset emissions from burning fossil fuels but it remains unclear who will bear the cost. Our study aims to show the limits of offsetting using reserve data from the 200 largest fossil fuel co…
New study says planting trees alone to offset effects of fossil fuels
Planting trees has plenty of benefits, but this popular carbon-removal method alone can’t possibly counteract the planet-warming emissions caused by the world’s largest fossil-fuel companies. To do that, trees would have to cover the entire land mass of North and Central America, according to a study out Thursday. Many respected climate scientists and institutions say removing
The Sun (Lowell)
Want to plant trees to offset fossil fuels? You’d need all of North and Central America, study finds
By MELINA WALLING Planting trees has plenty of benefits, but this popular carbon-removal method alone can’t possibly counteract the planet-warming emissions caused by the world’s largest fossil-fuel companies. To do that, trees would have to cover the entire land mass of North and Central America, according to a study out Thursday. Many respected climate scientists and institutions say removing carbon emissions — not just reducing them — is esse…
Associated Press News
Want to plant trees to offset fossil fuels? You'd need all of North and Central America, study finds
Planting trees can help save the planet, right? A new study finds that to offset all the planet-warming carbon emissions from fossil fuel reserves, trees would have to entirely cover an area the size of North and Central America combined.
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