Lecturer in Conservation Biology, Dr Charlie Gardner, has been interviewed by KentOnline, saying that local council climate emergency plans to reduce carbon emissions may not be enough to draw the existing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
“It’s called a tree. Plants take carbon out of the atmosphere and convert it into their tissues, they convert it into wood where it’s stored. It’s widely recognised we need tree planting and ecosystem restoration on a massive scale globally to draw down the existing carbon out the atmosphere, and trees are the only technology we have to do this,” he said.
Dr Gardner believes that, although there are strategies local councils can adopt now to reduce the effects of climate change, such as tree planting and a drastic reduction in landfill waste, authorities are running out of time to act.
“We are at risk of leading to a world which cannot support civilisation. This is climate change – it’s a threat to our existence. And we don’t have a lot of time, which is why we use this language called emergency.”
The full article can be read here, where you can also listen to Dr Gardner discussing the climate emergency on the KM Community podcast.