This is the critical flaw in betting mostly on trees to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. To get to the now-unlikely target of +1.5°C by 2100, the need is on the

This is the critical flaw in betting mostly on trees to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. To get to the now-unlikely target of +1.5°C by 2100, the need is on the order of 6 billion tons of CO2 to remove each year by 2050[1]. A mature tree can capture only around 22 kg a year[2], so removing 6 billion tons would require planting 270 billion trees each year. To get a sense of the magnitude of the effort, there are an estimated 3 trillion trees on Earth today; we'd need to plant just as many in only 11 years. [1] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/sustainability-blog/now-the-ipcc-has-recognized-that-carbon-removals-are-critical-to-addressing-climate-change-its-time-to-act https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-ins... [2] https://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/forests-health-and-climate-change/key-facts/trees-help-tackle-climate-change https://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/forests-health-and-climat...