According to a report in the UK's prestigious The Independent newspaper, in the war along with climate change, trees will be our biggest weapon. According to the results of a new study, if 1.2 trillion new trees are planted, the human-induced carbon emissions in the last 10 years can be reset.
Thomas Crowther, an environmental scientist who conducts research at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and a team affiliated with him published a report they had been working on for a long time. According to this report, trees will be the most powerful weapon of people in the fight against climate change.
Crowther noted that there is enough room for planting 1.2 trillion new trees all over the world and explained: “By planting 1.2 trillion new trees, we can reset human-induced carbon emissions in the last 10 years. Trees are our most important weapon. If we can realize this dream, we can also have more benefit than vegan diet and the sustainable energy sources such as wind turbines that we have been working on for many years.
There are three trillion trees
Scientists have been trying to estimate the number of trees in the world for many years. Crowther and his team announced that this number was about 3 trillion by research. In order to reach this number, they added the results from the satellites to the research they carried out from the land. Thus, they obtained a more consistent result than the previous studies. In the past, the American Space Agency (NASA) reported less than 3 trillion times. This research, in which new technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence were used, led the researchers to find out where the new trees can be planted along with the estimated number of trees in the world.
Crowther explained the results of his research at the American Scientific Development Association (AAAS) meeting in Washington, DC, and said: “We think these trees absorb 400 gigaton of carbon. Even if we increase the number of trees by only 1 trillion, it is possible to increase the amount of carbon absorbed by the trees from over 500 gigaton. This reduces the effects of the last 10 years to zero.”
“It's impossible to reset all damage”
Thomas Crowther says that although the trees are our greatest weapon against climate change, it is impossible to reset all the damage caused by humanity to the world. But there is no doubt that their work will bring the world to a more livable point. One Billion Tree project carried out by the United Nations was updated under the name of a Trillion Tree in light of the data presented by Crowther. So far, 17 billion saplings have been planted in different regions of the world.
Thomas Crowther is pleased that the scope of this campaign has been updated: Our goal is not cities or farmland. We are aiming to plant in places that have been abandoned or wasted due to various reasons. In this way, we will fight two important problems: Climate change and the disappearance of diversity… I am very glad that everyone can contribute to improve the destiny of the world. Trees have a characteristic to bring happiness to our world and people. They can improve the quality of air, water and food. They can repair the human-based defects of our ecosystem.
