Tree Restoration Approaches for Carbon Removal

Tree restoration in the United States, including reforestation, restocking understocked forests, silvopasture, cropland agroforestry, and urban reforestation, offers a significant near-term opportunity for carbon removal. The document estimates a plausible removal of 180–360 MtCO2 per year by 2040, with an average cost of less than $10 per ton of CO2. To achieve this, the author argues for federal policy interventions such as tax credits or direct payments, environmental integrity safeguards, the use of third-party intermediaries, and technical assistance for landowners.

• Tree restoration is identified as the most significant near-term opportunity for carbon dioxide removal at the required scale within the United States, with opportunities spanning sub-urban and exurban areas, post-disturbance forest landscapes, nonagricultural lands, and eastern forests that are considered less than fully stocked.
• The potential for tree restoration across 330 million acres, primarily on private land, involves planting 60 billion trees. This could theoretically remove up to 540 MtCO2 per year without impacting agricultural production, though a more plausible estimate accounting for constraints like tree mortality and nursery capacity is 180–360 MtCO2 per year by 2040, sustained through 2050.
• The average cost for carbon removal through tree restoration is estimated to be under $10 per ton of CO2.
• Scaling tree restoration as a climate mitigation strategy requires federal policy, specifically federal subsidies of $4–4.5 billion per year over 20 years. Proposed mechanisms include tax credits (similar to solar or 45Q credits), direct payment or cost-share programs via the Farm Bill and Department of Agriculture, or grants to states.
• Effective policy implementation requires safeguards to ensure trees represent new carbon removal sources and are ecologically appropriate, as well as the use of third-party intermediaries (such as land trusts or private companies) to reduce transaction costs and technical burdens for individual landowners.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Tree Restoration Approaches for Carbon Removal. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-tree-restoration.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Tree Restoration Approaches for Carbon Removal. n.d. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-tree-restoration.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Tree Restoration Approaches for Carbon Removal |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-tree-restoration.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendtree, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Tree Restoration Approaches for Carbon Removal}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/carbonshot-tree-restoration.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }