A new ambitious goal for the protection of the planet: planting a thousand billion trees within 2030
A new goal to reach within 2030 has been set at the G20 summit in Rome: planting a thousand billion trees in order to save our planet.
Trees absorb CO2, which is necessary for their livelihood, and this is fundamental in order to reduce the greenhouse effect. But, of course, this is not enough to solve the climate crisis.
Nowadays, global warming is a relevant topic which attracts great media coverage. Everyone should contribute so as to reduce CO2 emissions and take care of the Earth.
What can we do to help the planet?
We could, for example, plant new trees in our gardens. In Italy we can also use the green bonus, which includes an Irpef deduction for the costs incurred in favor of these practices.
In addition to this, we need to reduce deforestation. These cause the felling of billions of trees every year to provide space for intensive farming and breeding, activities which make the climate situation worse.
What can we actually do, in our own small, to protect forests?
- Going digital and reducing useless paper waste, choosing the recycled one. In fact, according to an estimate by the WWF and Greenpeace, every Italian family consumes about 200 kg of paper each year, equivalent to 2 trees.
- This could sound strange, but we can help with the protection of forests by eating less meat. The extension of cattle farms causes the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, the most important green lung of our planet.
- Reducing packaging to a minimum. Recycling paper and cardboard. Reusing furniture and wooden objects, giving them a second life through upcycling.
- Choosing sustainable sources of heating: replacing the wood or pellet stove with an underfloor heating system powered by solar panels, and increasing the insulation of the house.
- Supporting projects for the protection of forests and the planting of trees.
Overall, in the world, the trees planted every year are less than the felled ones (source https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation). Hence, reforestation alone is not sufficient to absorb the excessive carbon produced by humans in the last years. If you’re interested in this topic, Nature magazine provides an updated map of the density of forest trees on a global scale.
Therefore, it is fundamental to support projects for the protection of existing forests so as to fight climate change.
