I recently read an interesting article from the New York Times regarding how planting trees to tackle our environmental issues is a facade created by big corporations instead of developing viable and sustainable solutions to climate change. The article I am referencing is “Let’s Not Pretend Planting Trees is a Permanent Climate Solution” by Dr. Zeke Hausfather. Many individuals believe that planting as many trees as possible is the optimal solution to combating climate change as it is easy and inexpensive. On the other hand, others believe in this idea due to an overall lack of awareness.
Why Did Society Choose Trees?
When you first think about the environment, what do you picture? For me, it is also trees. It seems like the simplest answer as we would assume that if some of our actions, such as producing excess carbon dioxide threatens the planet, then why not use trees, a plant that takes in carbon dioxide, as the perfect solution? Unfortunately, that is not the case. Trees are not essentially the climate saviour they are pictured to be. Of course, they are great for the environment, but they alone are not enough to reverse the extent of the damage. According to Dr. Hausfather, the “trillion trees” initiative launched in 2020 at the World Economic Forum is not the ideal solution as trees only temporarily store the carbon dioxide taken from the atmosphere. Thus, the majority of the daily carbon emissions will stay in the atmosphere for centuries to come. As stated previously, companies favour trees as a climate solution as they are cost-effective and less time-consuming, but they cannot rely on them as the only solution. Many influential actors, YouTubers, and government officials endorsed trees as a part of their efforts to take on climate change, but is that enough?
Not the Best Solution
Planting trees is definitely a starting point for a greener tomorrow, but there are key aspects that make them a poor solution. Listed below are some of those reasons:
- Trees would have to remain in place for thousands of years to effectively remove carbon emissions from the atmosphere, which is unlikely due to deforestation, urbanization, and wildfires
- Companies that are proposing planting trees may not even be around in the next decade, leaving the trees unmaintained and open to be cut down
- Trees do not do permanent carbon removal
- Finding proper land for trees to successfully grow in can be difficult, especially in some other countries
- Temporary solution
What Can Be Done Instead?
While I was reading the article, I was often wondering what other solutions could present themselves in a case like this. Now that it is established that planting trees is not the first route we should go to deal with climate change, what else can be done? According to the article, another option for removing carbon emissions from our atmosphere would be to put carbon dioxide back deep into the ground. This can be done by putting carbon emissions in places far away from the atmosphere such as in the ocean or in the form of rocks. However, these technologies are fairly recent and are highly expensive. From that, it can be concluded that unfortunately, solutions that work for climate change are somewhat inaccessible for places in the world that are experiencing poverty and are also rare in North America. However, new advancements are being made and scientists are hopeful of reducing costs regarding this procedure in the upcoming years. Overall, we must begin to prioritize carbon removal, reduce fossil fuel emissions, and continue to raise awareness.
A Shift in Perception
I often wonder why the nature of laws regarding the environment is progressively becoming more exclusive rather than inclusive to threats of climate change. Concerning that, Hausfather states, “For carbon to be permanently removed by planting trees, forests would have to remain in place for thousands of years.” With that in mind, it seems unfeasible for trees to be the best solution as corporations that pledge to plant trees may not even be around by the time they are planted and deforestation continues to rise. Living in Alberta, the oil and gas industry is a major part of our economy, and trees are always brought up as a solution to combat fossil fuels. I understand the role the oil and gas sector plays in the lives of many people living in Alberta, but it is time that we shift our attention to more progressive and sustainable solutions while keeping in mind the livelihoods of those that depend on the oil and gas sector for their income. Currently, we cannot completely remove oil and gas from our economy, but we can consider moving forward for the sake of a better future. As a society, we need to stop pretending that trees are our climate saviour when in truth our saviour is a shift in perception to create more accessible eco-friendly products and to urge government investment in greener technologies.
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