Rewilding and Afforestation

Planting billions of trees could sequester up to 200 gigatons of carbon by 2100, making afforestation a top contender for natural climate solutions. Yet monoculture plantations, which account for 70% of reforestation projects, reduce biodiversity by 30% compared to native forests, a problem faster than the average natural solution typically faces. Land conflicts with agriculture are inevitable: each hectare of trees displaces approximately 3 tonnes of annual food production. This trade-off ranks below #6 Carbon Tax versus Cap-and-Trade in economic cost-benefit analyses, though it remains cheaper than artificial carbon removal at $50 per tonne.