PLANET
WHERE CARBON LIVES Soil , trees , and plants hold most of the carbon stock stored in forests .
SOURCE : BLOOMBERG / FAO
4 %
Dead wood
6 %
Forest litter
44 %
Living biomass
45 %
Soil organic matter
THE RECENT WILDFIRES in California are an urgent reminder of how endangered our forests are due to climate change . “ I live with my family in the Bay Area . We ’ ve seen the otherworldly skies and inhaled the wildfire smoke ,” says Enrique Lores , President and CEO of HP . “ We ’ ve watched , with heartbreak and outrage , as so many of our neighbors across the Western United States have lost their homes — and , in some cases , their lives — to these devastating fires .”
This devastation increases the urgency to protect the world ’ s forests , and then rebuild and replenish them . Fifteen billion of the earth ’ s trees continue to be lost each year while some five billion are planted , resulting in a net loss of 10 billion trees annually . The simple act of planting trees is drawing new interest from businesses and nonprofits because every tree counts when it comes to capturing carbon dioxide .
In August , the
World Economic Forum ( WEF ) and
American Forests launched the US chapter of 1t . org , the global initiative to plant one trillion new trees within the next 10 years , the UN ' s so-called Decade on Ecosystem Restoration . Dozens of American
National Forest Foundation . Together they have pledged to support the
1t . org campaign to conserve and restore forests by growing more than 855 million trees in the United States and abroad by 2030 .
Most of the trees pledged will help restore American forests , and a significant number will be planted in American cities .
“ It is great to have strong participation from cities because taking action to fix the dramatically inequitable distribution of trees in our cities can deliver real health benefits , especially in a changing climate ,” says Jad Daley , president and CEO of American Forests , a conservation organization founded in 1875 .
A movement “ hiding in plain sight ”
Scientific research increasingly points to tree planting , restoration , and conservation as an enormous opportunity for meaningful and immediate action on climate change — with important economic and social benefits . In addition to carbon capture , reforestation increases biodiversity and protects public water supplies , and planting trees in urban areas helps reduce environmental and health inequalities as well as temperatures during heat waves . Reforestation also creates jobs in a green recovery , for cities and rural areas alike , that will be critical as the United States and the world build back after COVID-19 .
Daley says the elements of a trillion-tree organization were already “ hiding in plain sight ” among the hundreds of US conservation organizations . The new US chapter of 1t . org is simply bringing many of these groups together around a common goal .
American Forests will partner with the WEF to provide the tools and technical know-how that these companies , governments , and nonprofit organizations will need to fulfill their pledges .
“ If we ’ re connecting and restoring our forests , it ’ s not simply a climate solution ,” says Justin Adams , director of Nature Based Solutions for the World Economic Forum . “ It is a solution that touches so many of the things we take for granted and underpins a good quality of life .”
WHERE SOME OF THE 855 MILLION TREES WILL BE
50K
Detroit , Michigan
1M
Tucson , Arizona
PREVIOUS SPREAD : PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVE HOEFLER , KEITH JONSON , BNW PHOTOGRAPHY , DAVID BOCA , ALL COURTESY OF UNSPLASH ; ILLUSTRATION CONCEPTS BY BLOOMBERG GREEN
HP / INNOVATION / FALL 2020 42