The climate crisis is accelerating, and we're falling further behind every day. Every tonne of carbon we continue to emit contributes to building up a debt that we'll have to pay back later, except the exponential 'interest' on this debt is rising global temperatures and all the disastrous consequences that come with it. Carbon prevented from entering the atmosphere earlier has a greater positive impact on reducing cumulative global warming. 

While Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) projects can be important activities for restoring forests, it is critical that we first and foremost prioritize preventing the deforestation of intact forests. The carbon emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation significantly exceed what ARR projects can absorb. One study published in Nature found that while one hectare of deforestation on average emits 355 tons of CO2, one hectare of reforestation only absorbs 6.7 tons of CO2. Newly planted forests require decades to sequester as much carbon as what’s currently stored in the old-growth forests, and one meta-analysis found that the survival rate of newly planted trees was only 56% after five years. Furthermore, old-growth forests have higher carbon densities than younger forests, provide more ecosystem services, and support a greater level of biodiversity. 

While some believe that protecting forests is not as “permanent” of a solution as technological removals, some of our planet’s forests are hundreds of millions of years old. While individual trees live and die, the forests themselves are the original, and durable climate solutions for many generations to come. Additionally, carbon removal technology is still in its infancy, and it would be imprudent to rely on this method as a panacea for future climate mitigation efforts.

We must take immediate action and invest in protecting our planet’s standing forests and their biodiversity today.