There's a big problem with the tree-planting climate strategy

New research shows why using forests as emissions offsets is likely to backfire

A forest and flames.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

Can we stop climate change by planting trees? President Trump seems to think so — he endorsed the idea of planting one trillion trees around the world at the Davos forum in Switzerland in January, apparently on the advice of billionaire Marc Benioff.

It's unclear whether this trillion-tree initiative is going anywhere. But the general idea is just part of a developing climate policy strategy based on forests. Corporations, countries, and some U.S. states have begun working up systems that would take up carbon from the atmosphere, usually through a market system allowing companies to purchase offsets for their emissions in the form of trees.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.