NEW YORK, NY (February 26, 2018) - There is wide agreement that land conservation plays an important role in reducing harmful gases that cause climate change. The question is, how big a role?
A recent report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows the contribution of so-called “natural climate solutions,” or land-based solutions for capturing harmful greenhouse gases, is more than 30 percent greater than previous estimates.
The report goes on to say that within reasonable constraints (other demands on land for food, fiber and biodiversity), land can fully capture an astounding 37 percent of all greenhouse gases necessary to keep climate change under 2˚C — just slightly above the agreed-upon goal of the Paris Climate Accord to keep climate impacts at a manageable level.
For our part, the 2.2 million acres that OSI has protected through direct acquisition, grants and loans over the last 40 years has contributed to reducing the same amount of heat-trapping gases by as spewed out by 40 coal-fired power plants.
Just another reason to keep protecting trees — and the land they grow on!