Natural Climate Solutions
Natural climate solutions need to stand for roughly 20% of the solution to the climate crisis.
Geologist, Alasdair Skelton, explains that we can divide Natural Climate Solutions into three categories: forests, wetlands and farms.
Forests remove carbon from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. But if we cut a tree down, it stops removing carbon. Even if we plant the trees again, it takes time before they take the same amount of carbon out of the atmosphere again. This is why forest preservations is so important. Replanting cut down forests is also an important solution but we need to approach afforestation (planting trees where there never were trees) with caution as we can remove habitats and/or other important sinks for carbon.
Wetlands store carbon because they are anoxic (not much oxygen gets into them). But wetlands take a long time to form. This is why we need to protect them.
Farms can be a part of the solution when actions are taken to encourage carbon storage in farming land. Also, using land for grain or vegetables rather than livestock (if possible) means we can feed more people from the same area.
Taking on the Climate Crisis with Social Change
Taking on the Climate Crisis with Social Change
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