Carbon offsetting: not such a quick fix after all

Bad news for buyers of ecological Christmas presents and seekers of environmental quick fixes: offsetting carbon emissions by planting extra trees might not work as well as we had all hoped. It always seemed too easy, didn't it?

New research presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union suggests that the carbon reducing benefits of the trees is outweighed by their tendency to trap heat close to the ground - especially when they are planted in the normally snowy, higher latitudes.

So while they cool the planet by taking carbon out of the atmosphere, they also warm it, like a winter blanket.

Location is key for trees to fight global warming

New Scientist

Mon Dec 18

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