Forests can’t handle all the net-zero emissions plans
Years of research into forests and participation in international climate negotiations lead College of the Atlantic professor Doreen Stabinsky and Kate Dooley of The University of Melbourne to conclude that emissions offsets won’t provide the solution some are promising, says The Conversation.
Net-zero emissions pledges to protect the climate are coming fast and furious from companies, cities and countries. But declaring a net-zero target doesn’t mean they plan to stop their greenhouse gas emissions entirely – far from it. Most of these pledges rely heavily on planting trees or protecting forests or farmland to absorb some of their emissions.
That raises two questions: Can nature handle the expectations? And, more importantly, should it even be expected to?
We have been involved in international climate negotiations and land and forest climate research for years. Research and pledges from companies so far suggest that the answer to these questions is no.