However, scientists say we must not place too much faith in trees to save us. Protecting existing forests and planting new ones are surely good things to do. Even the UK’s Daily Mail, a right-wing newspaper not known for its climate activism, has just launched a campaign encouraging all its readers to plant a tree. Others have attempted far more dramatic feats: in 2016 one Indian state planted 50 million trees in one day, while in July last year Ethiopia claimed to have planted 350 million in a day. The UK government has planted millions of trees over the last decade, and has pledged another million between 20.
George Monbiot, a columnist in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, has founded a campaign called Natural Climate Solutions, which advocates restoring forests and other ecosystems. The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has made a film arguing for extra protections for the world’s forests, and for the replanting of those that have been cut down. The hope is that they will save us from the worst effects of climate change. Suddenly we are all being told to plant trees.
