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"Carbon neutrality" isn't about preserving known reserves of fossil fuels. It's about net-zero emissions by balancing new carbon emissions with carbon reduction
by AndrewGaspar 8y ago
"Carbon neutrality" isn't about preserving known reserves of fossil fuels. It's about net-zero emissions by balancing new carbon emissions with carbon reductions or sequestrations.
Regardless, burning a tree is only carbon neutral if you actually plant more trees, and probably a LOT more trees, since the tree you burnt was presumably more mature and it still takes a long time for trees to grow. Moreso, you can achieve carbon neutrality with fossil fuels through the exact same mechanism - burn coal, then plant trees.
- ynniv 8y agoAnd lots of tree farms do plant new trees, making it neutral. Coal is more carbon-dense, so you need to plant more new trees than already exist and there probably isn't room for them unless you clear a forest first, and then what are you going to do with that wood? Obviously other sources of energy are better than burning wood, but efficiently burning wood is better than burning coal or oil.