How does the rainforest offset my CO2 emissions?
Our calculator and offsetting project is aboutCO2, becauseCO2 is the most tangible and most accurately calculable part of our ecological footprint to date. However, we must not forget that this is only one part of the calculation and that our climate as a whole and therefore life on our planet are in danger. Global warming is just one consequence of our interventions in the ecological balance, but drought, floods, storms and other extreme weather events are also part of climate change.
So it is not enough just to reduceCO2 in the atmosphere. Even if we stopped burning fossil fuels, we could not stop climate change if we continue to destroy carbon-rich ecosystems and important habitats. We need a real savior of the climate and biodiversity. The best part - we already have it. And we can't afford to lose it: The forest.
Currently, 30 % of the earth's surface is forested. Standing forests have many important functions for the climate and the environment. They prevent the erosion of nutrient-rich soils. From a global perspective, trees produce the majority of the oxygen that is vital for us humans, so they secure the basis of our existence. Forests also filter particulate matter such as heavy metals, nitrogen oxides and soot particles from industrial and car exhaust fumes from the atmosphere and purify the water in streams and rivers.
Through the continuous evaporation of vegetation and the release of aerosols by trees, forests also generate the typical frequent rainfall. As a result, forests are responsible for a moist, cool microclimate, store vast amounts of water and act as our most important buffer against weather extremes and climate change. They are, in fact, the "Green Lung" of our planet. And last but not least, they are places of peace and relaxation.
Above all, however, these forests bind moreCO2 in their biomass, soils and forest bogs than is present in the entire atmosphere. If the forest is cut down, the carbon reserves stored in it are released through the use of the wood and the rotting of the branches, leaves and roots and are released back into the atmosphere asCO2. There, theCO2 acts as a greenhouse gas and accelerates global warming. Biodiversity is lost and it becomes significantly drier and hotter due to the lack of tree vegetation. When carbon-rich ecosystems such as forests and moors are destroyed, they release moreCO2 than it would ever be possible to bind again in a period of time relevant to humans.
For this reason, forests, especially ancient primeval forests, are our most important buffer against human-induced climate change when viewed globally. Yet every year, 13 million hectares of forest disappear, an area equivalent to the size of Greece.
Without the forest, our air would be too polluted to breathe, there would not be enough reliable rain, our soils would be washed out and depleted of nutrients, our water sources would dry up, and drought and heat would plague us. That's why we think it's time to say thank you to nature for all the free services it provides us with every day and without which life would be impossible. If we want to save the climate as a whole and life on our planet, it is not enough to bindCO2 in new plantings at some point in the future or to reduce it through innovative technologies.
We need to say thank you and preserve all the remaining intact, carbon-high ecosystems that "gift" us every day.