By Chris Lang The Climate Change Board of El Salvador has written an open letter raising its concerns about the statements made by Fernando López, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, at the UN Climate Action Summit, held in New York, in September 2019. The letter also raises concerns about the Salvadorean government’s plans for…
Tag: Natural Climate Solutions
Natural Climate Questions: Can trees planted in Uganda really offset greenhouse gas emissions from Max Burgers’ fast food chain in Sweden?
By Chris Lang Trees suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. They are the most effective means we have of reducing the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. But again and again, tree planting projects have created problems for local communities.
Total greenwash: Total CEO announces oil company will spend US$100 million a year on forest protection and reforestation
By Chris Lang On 6 July 2019, Patrick Pouyanné, the CEO of French oil and gas company Total, announced that his company would invest US$100 million per year in forest protection. Total’s announcement comes shortly after similar announcements by Shell and Eni to offset some of their emissions with forest conservation projects.
“The claim that global tree restoration is our most effective climate change solution is simply incorrect scientifically and dangerously misleading”
By Chris Lang In July 2019, Science magazine published a paper titled, “The global tree restoration potential”. The paper was written predominantly by scientists from the Crowther Lab at ETH–Zürich, and from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. The paper resulted in a very large amount of media coverage, and some criticism from climate scientists.
Felix Finkbeiner’s fairy tales about tree planting
By Chris Lang The NGO Plant for the Planet aims to “fight the climate crisis by planting trees around the world”. In March 2018, Plant for the Planet launched a Trillion Tree Campaign, together with Prince Albert II of Monaco, WWF, WCS, and Birdlife International, among others.