Reforesting, protecting and restoring ecosystems. A solution as simple as it is ignored for cutting CO2 in the atmosphere. Scientists and activists say so, calling for natural solutions to save the climate and the planet.
Acting to keep the rise in average global temperature within 1.5 degrees in order to prevent our planet from reaching a point of no return. This is what people around the world are asking of their governments, which however do not appear to be doing enough about it. Or rather, it seems that those leading the world are not looking at the problem from the right perspective — and therefore not at the possible solutions to it either.
To survive, we must stop burning fossil fuels. But that alone is not enough. Many solutions are being discussed. What if we looked at the ones right in front of us?
That is what is suggested by a letter written by a group of 23 distinguished figures — scientists, writers, activists and artists — to highlight the urgency of tackling the climate with solutions that have so far been underestimated and even ignored. A letter that has been turned into a video, starring activist Greta Thunberg and journalist George Monbiot.
To limit the warming of the planet, a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is necessary. And to achieve this, countries would need to decarbonise and revolutionise their own systems, across every sector: from energy to transport, agriculture to industry. And to do so quickly. Many scientists, however, say that even if the world zeroed out its emissions tomorrow, a global temperature rise of one and a half degrees would probably still be exceeded. Indeed, taking into account the greenhouse gas reduction commitments made so far by states under the Paris Agreement, a rise of more than 3 degrees would be reached. A catastrophe, then.
And yet, there is a simpler and more immediate approach — one that has been ignored — which would help us tackle the problem of CO2 in the atmosphere: nature. The natural world would indeed make an enormous contribution to the race against time to save the climate and the Earth from the catastrophe whose early signs we are already living through: extreme weather events, the collapse of ecosystems, the extinction of species. By protecting large natural areas that already exist or by recreating them — from forests to wetlands to the ocean floor — these would naturally store CO2, removing it from the atmosphere. And there lies the solution: ecosystem restoration. By countering environmental degradation we would at the same time be addressing the climate issue. Two struggles — the climate one and the environmental one — that are ultimately two sides of the same coin.
There is a magical machine that removes carbon dioxide from the air, is cheap, and builds itself. It's called a tree. And the tree is an example of a natural climate solution.
This would mean reforesting on a massive scale, but also restoring areas currently given over to intensive agriculture on land or to fish farming at sea, reviving wetlands and entire habitats that would encourage the return of species which, in turn, would help to keep them healthy. Every year the world loses 7 million hectares of forests due to deforestation, and countering it is one of the most urgent priorities for nature. But forests are not the only concern.
Protect, restore, fund. Where nature plays a vital role, we must protect it. Nature regenerates, and we can help ecosystems recover. We must stop funding what destroys nature and pay for what helps it instead.
Indeed, wetlands — peatlands, marshes, mangrove forests, river estuaries, and also seabed algae — absorb up to 50 times more carbon dioxide than tropical forests, making them the best ally for removing CO2 from the atmosphere and trapping it in the soil. Considering that since 1900 we have lost 65 per cent of wetlands and today they cover only 6 per cent of the planet's surface (forests cover approximately 30 per cent), restoring them would mean creating the largest long-term carbon dioxide store.
Wetlands, moreover, exist in every country and every climatic zone — from the poles to the tropics and from mountains to the sea — and millions of people depend on them for their livelihoods. They also help to counter the effects of climate change: they absorb rainfall and act as a natural barrier against flooding, to the extent that a mangrove forest can reduce the destructive force of a tsunami by 90 per cent.
The protection and restoration of ecosystems can help reduce the risk of a sixth extinction, while contributing to the resilience of local populations against climate disasters.
These natural climate solutions must, finally, not forget local and indigenous peoples, the best guardians of ecosystems. This is a broad, comprehensive, all-encompassing and above all natural approach that would allow us to resolve the ecological and climate crisis we are facing. A crisis that is already a matter of survival.
Among the signatories of the letter, published in the British newspaper the Guardian, are young activist Greta Thunberg (who gave rise to the climate movement #FridaysForFuture), journalist and writer Naomi Klein (who recently launched a platform to discuss climate and social justice called The Leap), the former president of one of the countries that are already being — and will increasingly be — struck by the effects of an ever-warmer planet, the Maldives, and journalist and writer George Monbiot (one of the first to speak about rewilding and author of a book on the subject entitled Selvaggi).
"The world is facing two existential crises, developing at a terrifying speed: one of the climate and one ecological. Neither is being addressed with the urgency needed to prevent our survival systems from collapsing. We write to champion an incredible but ignored approach to averting climate chaos and defending the living world: natural climate solutions. That is, removing CO2 from the air by protecting and restoring ecosystems.
By protecting, restoring and recreating forests, peatlands, mangroves, saltwater marshes, the ocean floor and other crucial ecosystems, large quantities of CO2 could be removed and stored. At the same time, the protection and restoration of these ecosystems can help reduce the risk of a sixth extinction, while contributing to the resilience of local populations against climate disasters. Protecting the living world and protecting the climate are, in many cases, one and the same thing. This potential has been largely ignored until now.
We call on governments to support climate solutions with an urgent programme of research, funding and political commitment. It is essential that they work with the guidance and free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples and other local communities.
This approach should not be used as a substitute for the rapid and complete decarbonisation of industrial economies. A committed and well-funded programme that addresses the causes of climate chaos, including natural climate solutions, could help us keep planetary warming below 1.5 degrees. We call for them to be deployed with the urgency this crisis demands."
Greta Thunberg, activist
Margaret Atwood, writer
Michael Mann, professor of atmospheric sciences
Naomi Klein, writer and activist
Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Dia Mirza, actress and United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador
Brian Eno, artist and musician
Philip Pullman, writer
Bill McKibben, writer and activist
Simon Lewis, professor of global change science
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, presenter and author
Charlotte Wheeler, forest restoration scientist
David Suzuki, scientist and author
Anohni, artist and musician
Asha de Vos, marine biologist
Yeb Saño, activist
Bittu Sahgal, founder of Sanctuary nature foundation
John Sauven, director of Greenpeace UK
Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth
Ruth Davis, deputy director of global programmes at the Royal society for the protection of birds
Rebecca Wrigley, chief executive of Rewilding Britain
George Monbiot, journalist