Today humanity produces more than 1,400 tons of carbon every minute. To combat climate change, we need to reduce fossil fuel emissions, and draw down excess CO2 to restore the balance of greenhouse gases. Like all plants, trees consume atmospheric carbon through photosynthesis. So what can trees do to help in this fight?
What if we only plant tree species that absorb and store the most carbon? Is fighting climate change as simple as adding 1 trillion more trees to the planet? What are the most effective natural climate solutions for ecosystems around the globe? The issue is complex but solutions are possible.
Watch this TED-Ed lesson by Jean-François Bastin, with animation by Lobster Studio.
And don’t forget to dig deeper. From TED-Ed:
To protect biodiversity and stop emissions associated with deforestation and forest degradation, we need to protect existing ecosystems and restore depleted ecosystems. To guide actions in that sense, we tried to estimate how many more trees the planet could carry, respecting the natural state of each ecosystem on Earth, and where they could be restored. Assessing the potential tree carrying capacity of the planet might play a key role in the development of key environmental strategies.
Finally, restoring ecosystems is not a simple solution or a silver bullet vs. climate change. We need to cut emissions and to capture atmospheric carbon to stabilize our climate. Restoring ecosystems can help a lot in the capture of atmospheric carbon, but it should be done through a holistic approach.
Related reading at Wikipedia: General Sherman (tree).
Next, watch more videos about natural climate solutions:
• How to Save Our Planet
• How can nature be used as a tool to restore ecosystem?
• How nature can repair our broken climate
And a few more videos about trees:
• What happens if you cut down all of a city’s trees?
• How tall can a tree grow?
• Why are mangrove trees so important?
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