DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) – A new study is sounding the alarm on one of the fossil fuel industry’s go-to solutions for pollution: planting trees to offset carbon emissions.
According to researchers, the numbers just don’t add up and the idea may be more harmful than helpful.
The study, led by Dr. Alain Naef of ESSEC Business School along with Dr. Nina Friggens and Patrick Njeukam, found that offsetting emissions from the world’s 200 largest fossil fuel companies would require planting a forest larger than all of North and Central America combined. That effort alone would cost a staggering $11 trillion at the lowest estimate.
“Our findings are clear,” said Dr. Naef. “It is cheaper to leave fossil fuels in the ground than to burn them and try to offset the damage later.”
The researchers also looked at alternative technologies like direct air capture, which removes carbon from the atmosphere. But that option, they say, would cost more than seven times the entire world’s annual GDP.
And planting that many trees? Not only would it take up land equal to all current farmland on Earth, but it could also damage water supplies, harm wildlife and interfere with food production.
The team stressed that many areas simply aren’t suitable for reforestation due to soil, climate and water needs.
“Ignoring these ecological limits risks making things worse, not better,” they wrote.
In the end, the researchers say there’s no shortcut. Real climate progress means cutting fossil fuel extraction and not just planting more trees.
