Carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, continues to increase rapidly in 2019. The average atmospheric CO2 has reached 414.8 parts-per-million (ppm) in May, the highest seasonal peak recorded in 61 years using the instruments of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Mauna Loa Observatory.

1. Will Planting Trees Be Enough
to Fight Climate Change?
U.S. Lawns

2. Carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, continues to
increase rapidly in 2019. The average atmospheric CO2 has reached 414.8 parts-per-million (ppm) in
May, the highest seasonal peak recorded in 61 years using the instruments of the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Mauna Loa Observatory.
Since trees use CO2 to grow, scientists suggest planting more to reduce the amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere. Trees also release oxygen, which will benefit people.

3. Does Earth Have Enough Space for More Trees?
A 2017 study shows that growing trees alone is not a viable option to counteract greenhouse gas
emissions from burning fossil fuel. It emphasizes that this solution would need large plantations that
would eliminate most natural ecosystems and reduce food production.
According to a recent TIME report, however, Swiss scientists say the planet has enough room to
accommodate a trillion or more trees despite the existing cities and farmlands. New trees would
cover 3.5 million square miles, roughly the size of the United States.
Calculations show that those new trees could capture nearly 830 billion tons of carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere. That is equivalent to carbon pollution humans have emitted in the past 25 years.
Despite the accuracy of the calculations, the feasibility of the solution remains a challenge.

4. The Major Contributors to CO2 Emissions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions
in the country as of 2017 were:
• Transportation (28.9 percent)
• Electricity production (27.5 percent)
• Industry (22.2 percent)
• Commercial and Residential (11.6 percent)
• Agriculture (9.0 percent)
• Land use and forestry (offset of 11.1 percent)
According to Architecture 2030, buildings also contribute almost 40 percent to annual global
greenhouse gas emissions. One-fourth of the yearly emissions of the building sector is from embodied
carbon, which is responsible for 11 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Countries around the world are working together to fight the climate crisis through the Paris Climate
Agreement of 2015. The biggest emitters, including China, the US, and India, should have more
responsibilities to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Sources:
https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/2019/06/04/carbon-dioxide-levels-hit-record-peak-
in-may/
https://uslawns.com/locations/oh/east-cincinnati/
https://blogs.agu.org/geospace/2017/05/18/planting-trees-cannot-replace-cutting-carbon-dioxide-
emissions-study-
shows/?utm_source=CPRE&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=this+week+from+agu&utm_content=thi
s+week+from+agu+5%2f24%2f17
https://time.com/5620706/plant-trillion-trees-climate-change/
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions