Five Reasons the Earth’s Climate Depends on Forests | Climate and Land Use Alliance

MBL Distinguished Scientist Jerry Melillo, MBL Trustee James Galloway of University of Virginia, and MBL Fellow Robert Howarth of Cornell University are among the 40 signatories to this statement issued by the Climate and Land Use Alliance.

Statement from Scientist Signatories

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will issue a new report soon on the impacts of 1.5°C of global warming. Limiting average temperature rise to 1.5°C requires both drastic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and removing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While high-tech carbon dioxide removal solutions are under development, the “natural technology” of forests is currently the only proven means of removing and storing atmospheric CO2 at a scale that can meaningfully contribute to achieving carbon balance.

In advance of the IPCC report, we highlight five often overlooked reasons why limiting global warming requires protecting and sustainably managing the forests we have, and restoring the forests we’ve lost. Read more of the article here.

Source: Five Reasons the Earth’s Climate Depends on Forests – Climate and Land Use Alliance