With the complexity of GHG fluxes in the land sector, it is often difficult to see the wood for all the trees. So let’s go straight to the root of the issue: some groups – notably, the forestry sector – claim that young, rapidly growing trees are the best at soaking up carbon from the atmosphere, and that using wood harvested from such plantations for furniture and building construction can lock away large quantities of carbon. Such false solutions are myths that disingenuously position the forestry industry as a key ally in the fight against climate change.
The truth is that trees only reach their maximum “carbon carrying capacity” many decades, and sometimes even centuries, into their growth, and that harvested wood products, on average, store only a fraction of the carbon contained in a living tree.
But don’t despair – there are real solutions! Proforestation is a process that allows older forests to continue growing to reach their biological sequestration potential. A newly published paper finds that protecting existing natural forests and allowing them to grow offers far superior mitigation value and significant co-benefits compared to plantation forests, such as nutrient cycling, water regulation, and pollination. Proforestation applies to all forest types.
We cannot afford to miss out on immediate mitigation opportunities in boreal, temperate and tropical landscapes. ECO therefore strongly be-leafs Parties should recognize the huge climate mitigation potential in their natural forests, with potential to close around one-third of the emissions gap, and calls on Parties to scale up forest protection and restoration.
In the (slightly adapted) wise words of Elsa – “Let it grow, LET IT GROOOW! [hair flip] The plantation myths don’t bother me anyways.”
