Study finds planting trees for carbon offset offers little gain
- Media Manager
- Oct 2, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 18, 2023
Microsoft Start - Talker News
Written By: Jim Leffman via SWNS
Published: October 3rd, 2023
Planting new forests to offset carbon is a waste of time and does little for biodiversity, a new Oxford study claims.
Scientists say that new plantations are often in areas that have never been forested and don't help biodiversity, leading to little gain overall.
They said that preserving what we already have is much better for the planet.
There has been a boom in commercial tree plantations in order to offset carbon emissions but the authors say we should prioritise conserving and restoring intact ecosystems.
Writing in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, the team from the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford says that new plantations are no match for the current forest.
