How natural are natural climate solutions?

The analysis examines 'natural climate solutions'—the restoration of carbon-storing environments—and warns that they may serve as alibis for inaction. The author highlights five primary risks: the impermanence and unverifiability of carbon storage, the potential for these solutions to substitute for avoidable fossil fuel emission reductions, the failure of previous carbon offset schemes, negative social impacts including land grabs in the tropics, and the risk of increasing food prices by competing with cropland. The document concludes that while protecting forests is beneficial, such initiatives must be severely capped within national targets and excluded from tradable carbon markets to ensure they do not undermine genuine decarbonisation.

• Storing carbon in soils and trees is characterized by high scientific uncertainty and impermanence, as stored carbon can be released quickly if trees burn or are cut.
• Previous carbon offset programs have a poor track record; a 2017 European Commission study found that 85% of carbon offset projects used by the EU under the UN's Clean Development Mechanism failed to reduce emissions.
• There is a significant risk that net-zero targets will allow carbon capture and storage to replace avoidable fossil fuel emission reductions, especially if the former is cheaper.
• Carbon offset projects have been linked to human rights violations and land ownership conflicts, specifically involving land grabs against indigenous communities in the tropics, such as in Uganda.
• Scaling up forest carbon sequestration may compete with agricultural land, potentially causing food prices to soar, particularly in developing economies.
• The author recommends that natural climate solutions be severely capped within nationally determined contributions and excluded from carbon markets to prevent them from being used as offsets for fossil fuel emissions.

APA

Hache, F. (2019). How natural are natural climate solutions? Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-natural-are-natural-climate-solutions/

Chicago

Hache, Frédéric. How natural are natural climate solutions? Green European Journal, 2019. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-natural-are-natural-climate-solutions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hache |first1=Frédéric |title=How natural are natural climate solutions? |publisher=Green European Journal |date=30 December 2019 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-natural-are-natural-climate-solutions/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hache2019how, author = {Hache, Frédéric}, title = {{How natural are natural climate solutions?}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-natural-are-natural-climate-solutions/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }