An interactive article for the Financial Times by visual reporter Alexandra Heal explores the various tree-planting pledges in the name of reducing carbon emissions, including several separate “trillion tree” campaigns and “more than a hundred government planting pledges.” The article explains: “It is impossible to count exactly how many trees or how much land have been pledged, because the campaigns are unclear about how their individual goals overlap. A recent report found that governments are each individually targeting an area almost four times the size of India to plant and restore. “Their intentions are laudable: to reduce carbon, nourish biodiversity and improve livelihoods by returning trees to planet Earth. But the simple idea is now facing a complex reality as some scientists raise myriad concerns – from a lack of available land to the unreliability of new trees in terms of storing carbon.” The article reviews 73 corporate commitment documents submitted as part of the 1t.org campaign, noting that “at least a third” of companies intend to plant trees to offset ongoing emissions, citing a scientist who calls this “greenwashing.”

Alexandra Heal, Financial Times