{"id":20113,"date":"2020-01-22T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=20113"},"modified":"2021-03-19T14:08:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T21:08:39","slug":"one-trillion-trees-to-combat-climate-change-why-its-not-so-outlandish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/one-trillion-trees-to-combat-climate-change-why-its-not-so-outlandish\/","title":{"rendered":"One Trillion Trees to Combat Climate Change: Why It\u2019s Not So Outlandish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The clock is ticking on climate change. And if we want to take on the challenge of a better future for ourselves and our planet, it will require a coordinated effort to get change-makers on the same page. That\u2019s the argument of the World Economic Forum, which has announced the 1t.org initiative<\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of this initiative is audacious, but it\u2019s also quite simple: By conserving, restoring, and planting 1 trillion trees by 2030, we can help slow the planet\u2019s rising temperatures, as well as stimulate biodiversity and restore some of the planet\u2019s ecosystem. The vision of 1t.org is to create a platform to bring together stakeholders who, collectively, have the capabilities to organize reforestation at a huge scale and empower entrepreneurs and NGOs on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salesforce is proud to support 1t.org in two ways. First, we will contribute our technology in the form of WEF\u2019s UpLink<\/a>, a new digital platform built to do just that: bring together stakeholders of all sizes to solve the United Nations\u2019 Sustainable Development Goals<\/a>, which include taking on climate change. Second, in support of the 1t.org<\/a> mission, Salesforce has set a goal to support and mobilize the conservation and restoration of 100 million trees over the next decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the scale and the science around reforestation, we caught up with ecosystem ecologist Thomas Crowther, whose Crowther Lab<\/a> research team at ETH Z\u00fcrich helped write the original study that set the target of 1 trillion trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One trillion seems like an almost inconceivable number. How did you arrive at that?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started with research that found that before the Agricultural Revolution, there were almost 6 trillion trees on the planet. Today, we estimate there are about 3 trillion covering about 2.7 billion hectares [around 10.4 million square miles] of land. We made a map that essentially evaluates where trees would naturally exist<\/a> and with that, you can see there’s room for vastly more trees than there currently are. Obviously, we can’t plant in agricultural or urban areas, so when you eliminate those, you’re left with about 0.9 billion hectares [about 3.5 million square miles], or about a third of the area those 3 trillion trees currently occupy.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Open Image Modal<\/span>\"\"<\/a>
Thomas Crowther, professor of Global Ecosystem Ecology at ETH Zurich, where he formed the Crowther Lab. Crowther specializes in ecosystem ecology.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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