Response: What is being done?
Video 1: UN Development Programme: to play with sound, scroll to the bottom of this page
Video 2: The 2021 Emissions Gap Report summarises the effects of failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep the planet with a safe operating temperature.
Fig. 3: Agricultural emissions increased to 50% of our total emissions in 2020.
“The idea of planting trees in vast areas to remove carbon dioxide from the air and reduce the impact of climate change, for example, has attracted a lot of attention, with some claiming it’s the best “low-hanging fruit” approach to pursue, McElwee said. But large-scale tree planting could conflict directly with food security because both compete for available land. It could also diminish biodiversity, if fast-growing exotic trees replace native habitat.” – Rutgers University, 2020
Fig. 4: Under the existing Emissions Trading Scheme, (ETS) the financial incentives to plant exotic trees are far greater than regenerating native forests. Radiata pine sequesters carbon faster in the trees, but not soils. More carbon is lost by the carbon-emitting harvesting methods, transporting felled timber (generally offshore), converting timber into wood products most of which will ultimately be burned or rot, releasing their carbon. Meanwhile, the biodiversity values and essential ecosystem services including soil carbon provided by natives are being sacrificed.
Fig. 5: To see an interactive map, click on the image. This will take you to the IPCC website. This screengrab is an example of how you can enter specific information for regions (in this example, New Zealand/ land only) and check the projected temperature changes over time, based on different models and pathways.