PLANT TREES TODAY – WE PLANT SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have launched a ‘Billion Tree Campaign‘ in an effort to soak up escalating CO2 levels around the world. Trees are still known to be the most effective means of absorbing CO2 in the atmosphere; a gas linked by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) scientists to Global Warming and Climate Change.

Trees are sometimes overlooked as a Carbon Offset solution, but they are the most natural and cost effective means of absorbing CO2 along with vegetation, plankton and algae. Trees also offer a host of other benefits including vital oxygen for us to breathe, wood for construction, fruit to eat, shelter for animals and water retention in the soil to assist with farming.

Many homes and organisations ask us about Carbon Offsetting and there are several ways to do this. Some offset schemes invest your money in emission reduction projects such as renewable power projects or low emissions stoves, but they fail to invest in tree planting because they find the absorption of CO2 difficult to measure. We disagree – the average CO2 absorption per tree can be measured and both NASA and the KYOTO protocol accept that the average tree planted will absorb 1 ton of CO2 in its lifetime.

With vast swathes of forest being cut down around the world and an increasing demand on wood for building materials,  the most pressing Carbon Offset solution now available is tree planting.

The problem is most of us don’t have enough time or space to plant trees. Most people ask us several questions prior to engaging our planting services. We have provided answers to those questions below:

HOW MANY TREES SHOULD I PLANT EACH YEAR TO OFFSET MY EMISSIONS?

It depends upon where you live. We’ll take the UK and US for example. In the UK the United Nations Statistics division reports that there are 61m of us emitting 568m tons of CO2 per year. This equates to 9.18 tons each. This means 10 trees will need to be planted. Factor in an additional 20% more trees (12 in total) to cater for those that will die in the planting process or from disease, this means we each need to plant 12 trees per year (or conveniently 1 per month) to entirely offset individual Carbon emissions in the UK.

In the US, there are 317m citizens emitting a total of 5752m tons of CO2 per year. This equates to 18.1 tons each. This means 19 trees will need to be planted. Factor in an additional 20% for disease, this equates to 22 trees or roughly 2 per month to entirely offset Carbon emissions in the US.

WHERE SHOULD TREES BE PLANTED – IN MY COUNTRY OR ABROAD?

We recommend some in your local country and some abroad. Trees planted in Tropical regions absorb up to 3x more CO2 due to the year round foliage and ideal growing conditions. They are also vital for soil water retention in hot climates, cover for animals and fruit for the locals. We also believe trees should be planted in your local country and we can do this free of charge when you switch to a greener energy supplier, usually at no extra cost and in some cases cheaper depending upon your postal/zip code.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

If your country is in the Northern Hemisphere, trees can cost £15 or $25 each but within Tropical regions, the price is typically a 1/3 of this. We encourage people to set up a monthly planting routine where we plant a minimum of 1-2 trees per month to offset your annual emissions. All trees planted by EcoSwitch are registered with the United Nations Tree planting programme.

TO CHECK HOW MANY TREES YOU SHOULD AIM TO PLANT, SELECT YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE IN THE CARBON CALCULATOR BELOW:

(Worldwide data is sourced from the United Nations Statistics division):

 

 

	Fruit and Indigenous Tree(s) @ £5.00 (inc VAT)/month
	Mango Tree(s) @ £5.00 (inc VAT) each
	Apple Tree(s) @ £5.00 (inc VAT) each
	Indigenous Tree(s) @ £5.00 (inc VAT) each

WHAT THE SCEPTICS SAY

Whilst some say that Tree Planting does nothing to address human beings consumption and reliance on Fossil Fuels, we do encourage people to first reduce consumption, switch to a green energy supplier and then start tree planting to absorb the remaining emissions. It is simply not enough to stop consumption because there will always be significant levels of emissions (including historic CO2 emission) that need absorbing.

Sceptics also say that trees absorb CO2 and release it again when they die. This is true, but only if the trees are left to grow too old and die naturally. All of the trees we plant are cut down and re-planted after 25 years. The wood isn’t left to rot because it is utilised as a raw material in the building trade (for example).

WHAT DO THE UNITED NATIONS WANT YOU TO DO?

The United Nations have called upon each of the 7 Billion people on the planet to plant a minimum of 1 tree. Approximately 12 Billion have been planted so far which is a fantastic result and the target keeps increasing. The number you should plant depends upon what the total CO2 emissions are of your country, divided by the population.

WHO SUPERVISES THE TREE PLANTING OPERATION?

Our local African representative, Theresa Komugisha Kabombora, holds an MSc in Seed Technology and Forestry from Edinburgh University. She is now based in Entebbe, Uganda and manages the tree planting. She has been working with us since 1996 on a variety of projects.

WHAT TYPES OF TREES DO WE PLANT AND HOW DO THE LOCAL PEOPLE BENEFIT?

A variety of trees including Mango, Apple or Indigenous Trees (such as the Mvule tree) are planted. Indigenous trees are vital to communities and you can learn about the Mvule tree here. Fruit trees are particularly helpful to local communities because they retain water and each tree can produce £75 or $125 of fruit produce per year.

All trees are grown in the nursery between June-December each year, before being planted in the monsoon season between January and March.