Have we planted too much faith in trees?

It seems we all love trees. Politicians, celebrities and big
businesses love trees too. They’re seen as a natural climate fix
because they eat carbon dioxide, one of the main gases that cause
global warming.


The number of trees pledged in the coming years runs into the
billions. Pakistan wants to plant more than three billion trees
in the next couple of years. Ethiopia claims to have planted 350
million in one day! Neal Razzell and Graihagh Jackson try to see
the wood from the trees amongst all these claims, and discover
that a ‘forest’ planting campaign doesn't always end up creating
the natural woodland we imagine it to be.


And to add to the urgency of the climate crisis, there's a new
problem - a warming world may mean plants can’t suck up our
carbon dioxide as effectively. Have we planted too much faith in
trees? Experts: Dr Kate Hardwick, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew
Prof Pedro Brancalion, professor of forest sciences at the
University of São Paulo Dr Ben Ben Poulter, NASA Goddard Space
Centre Rafael Bitante, SoS Mata Atlantica Project


Producer: Jordan Dunbar (London), Jessica Cruz (Sao Paulo)
Researcher: Soila Apparicio Editor: Penny Murphy