Published

1 year ago

January 7, 2024

Alice Rush

Tree-planting has been hailed as a solution to climate change. But how much can trees really do to tackle global warming? See our research here: https://econ.st/32HXvXY

Click here to subscribe to The Economist on YouTube: https://econ.st/2xvTKdy

Summer 2019 – More than 38,000 fires raged across the Amazon. Fires that were man-made. Over the past 50 years almost 17% of the world’s largest rainforest has been cleared. And globally deforestation has almost doubled in just five years.

Since the start of human civilisation it’s estimated that the number of trees around the world has fallen by almost half. Clearing forests increases carbon-dioxide levels but planting them could store away some of the carbon already in the atmosphere.

This woman runs safaris in England. Guests are not only here to see wild animals – they’re here to see wild trees.

Almost 20 years ago Isabella Tree—yes that is her real name-handed 1,400 hectares of Sussex farmland back to nature, by doing, well nothing. She thinks this is the best way to use the land to help tackle climate change.

To stabilise the climate global carbon emissions need to drop to net zero by 2050. Simon Lewis is a professor of global change science.

And there’s never been more global ambition to plant trees. In 2014, 51 countries pledged to plant over 3.5m square kilometres of forest by 2030 – an area slightly larger than India. The 2030 target looks likely to be met. But there’s a catch…

Monoculture tree plantations like eucalyptus grow quickly but the trees are harvested every ten or so years releasing much of the carbon stored in the tree back into the atmosphere – which means that, according to some studies they’ll store only around one-fortieth of the carbon natural forests do over the long term.

In fact, those pledges to plant millions of trees actually promise to store 26bn tonnes less carbon than they could. Sometimes the motives for planting forests are less green than they might appear. By 2020 Ireland ought to have cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 20% below 2005 levels. But at current rates it will have reduced them by only 5%. Planting forests might help Ireland avoid massive penalties for missing EU targets because the potential carbon these forests could store in the future can be counted as a carbon credit today. In the 1920s Ireland had the lowest forest cover in Europe at around 1%. That’s now risen to 11% and the government has set a target to cover 18% of the land with forest by 2046.

And now local community groups are protesting against these monoculture tree plantations. They say they’re doing more harm than good.

Tree-planting programmes invariably have an impact on the people living nearby. In east Africa one project is demonstrating what can be achieved
when there’s genuine buy-in from the local communities. Green Ethiopia is a mixed-tree planting charity.

The land is communally owned and co-operatives of local women receive benefits for planting trees which are protected from being harvested. Here conserving is just as important as planting. Green Ethiopia assesses whether the condition of the land is good enough to regenerate by itself. When it is—on about a third of the area the charity runs they leave it alone. Just like Isabella Tree, back in England.

Monoculture plantations are often preferred because they make money. So some experts are looking to a future where carbon payments could create financial incentives for natural forests. Ultimately though, the trouble with trees tackling climate change is space

For more from Economist Films visit: http://films.economist.com/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXkbdELr4EQ

Related Topics:Global Warming solution Tree-planting

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Climate Change: can nature repair the planet?

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2023: A Year In Climate Change

Alice Rush

Climate Change Videos

“finally a president who follows science”

Published

3 weeks ago

April 26, 2025

Alice Rush

I feel like I’m losing my mind. Watch my video summarising 2025 climate news next week on Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/simonclark

My previous Nebula exclusive, a chat with PhD researcher Jordan Harrod on AI and climate: https://nebula.tv/videos/simonclark-ai-and-climate-in-conversation

The Trump White House put out a press release to celebrate Earth day, touting what the administration was doing for the environment. Let’s dive in to what they’re saying, and how aligned it is with reality.

You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys
My concert: https://bathboxoffice.org.uk/whats-on/618//so-sweet-a-life

1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/on-earth-day-we-finally-have-a-president-who-follows-science/
2. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/exported-liquefied-natural-gas-coal-study
3. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history
4. https://x.com/USTradeRep/status/1914668721949356258
5. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/20/brazil-amazon-deforestation-report-bolsonaro-climate
6. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-67962297
7. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/coca-cola-slides-backwards-again-plans-to-expose-americans-to-more-toxic-plastic-bottles/
8. https://skepticalscience.com/sabin33-19-are-wind-turbines-a-major-threat-to-wildlife.html
9. https://www.theenergymix.com/trump-plans-earth-day-assault-on-u-s-climate-non-profits-tax-status/
10. https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/climate-backtracker
11. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/04/trump-climate-change-federal-websites
12. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/noaa-braces-mass-layoffs-fueling-concerns-lifesaving-weather/story?id=119730398
13. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/trump-executive-order-energy-emergency
14. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2025)767230
15. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/trump-epa-pollution-regulation-cuts
16. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/anti-donald-trump-protests-erupt-in-us-ahead-of-earth-day-over-environmental-rollbacks-days-after-50501-protest/articleshow/120490752.cms?from=mdr
17. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2025/apr/23/climate-action-public-support
18. https://www.climatepolicydashboard.org/
19. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/trump-climate-state-laws-executive-order

———- II ———-

More about me – https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata
My book – https://geni.us/firmament

Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark

———- II ———-

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.

This Earth Day, President Trump posted a laundry list of what his administration was doing on environmental issues. What is President Trump doing on climate change? What is the USA doing about the environment?

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:

Dave Teare, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33.

Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry ., Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.

Cameron Hicks, Yorick Droz, Ian Hamilton, Kristopher Sicari, Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Hannarrrr, Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD, & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael Belde, Thusto , Lach, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CeZqdZQBls

Climate Change Videos

How much progress have we made on climate change?

Published

3 months ago

March 3, 2025

Alice Rush

Progress is happening all over the world. I couldn’t fit the entire world into my studio though, so built a model. See how I did that with a Nebula subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/simonclark

You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys

REFERENCES
It turns out the reference list was longer than the maximum length of a video description allowed by YouTube, so they are listed here: https://www.simonoxfphys.com/blog/2025/2/28/references-for-how-much-progress-have-we-made-on-climate-change

———- II ———-

More about me https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata

Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark

———- II ———-

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.
Research assistance by Leonard Neamtu.

Have we actually made progress against climate change? Have emissions decreased? How much warming will we see by 2100?

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:

Dave Teare, Norm Zemke, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33 .

Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry ., Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.

Kristopher Sicari, Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Hernando de Sá Silva, Zr0w3n, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Hannarrrr, Steamrollerman , Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, Tyler Schwartz, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Eddy Torres, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Robin Anne McDuff, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, Trevor Berninger, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael B., Thusto , Lach, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1jOqyjcO4g

Climate Change Videos

The liars who just arrived in the UK

Published

4 months ago

February 2, 2025

Alice Rush

The worst arrival in Britain since the British. Try Brilliant for free for 30 days at https://www.brilliant.org/simonclark

Last month one of the most evil organisations expanded its operations into the UK, seeking to get a foothold in Europe. It’s time we talked about them, who’s paying them, and why they matter.

Thanks to @NandovMovies and @NotJustBikes for lending me their voices!

You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys

REFERENCES
1. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
2. https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7757245/
4. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
5. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/12/exxon-climate-change-global-warming-research
6. Merchants of Doubt – https://geni.us/merchantsofdoubt
7. http://conservativetransparency.org/
8. https://www.desmog.com/george-c-marshall-institute/
9. https://www.desmog.com/
10. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/donors-trust-donor-capital-fund-dark-money-koch-bradley-devos/
11. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/01/15/tories-net-zero-2050-pledge-without-plan-kemi-badenoch/
12. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-013-1018-7
13. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315012
14. https://www.desmog.com/heartland-institute/
15. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213815120
16. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8537
17. https://www.fire.ca.gov/
18. https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4671605/1/Lelieveld-etal-2023-Air-pollution-deaths-attributable-to-fossil-fuels.pdf
19. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/15/farage-and-truss-attend-uk-launch-of-us-climate-denial-group-heartland
20. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/01/15/tories-net-zero-2050-pledge-without-plan-kemi-badenoch
21. https://www.desmog.com/2025/01/22/usa-climate-denial-group-heartland-institute-using-far-right-to-attack-eu-green-policies/

———- II ———-

More about me https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata

Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark

———- II ———-

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.

Who are the Heartland institute? Why are people skeptical of climate change? Who are the Koch brothers? Who finances the climate denier movement? In this video essay on the expansion of the Heartland Institute into the UK we look at these questions and much more.

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:

Dave Teare, Norm Zemke, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33.

Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry., Whitefang, Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.

Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Hernando de Sá Silva, Zr0w3n, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Steamrollerman , Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, Tyler Schwartz, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD, & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Eddy Torres, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Robin Anne McDuff, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, Trevor Berninger, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael B., Thusto , Lachlan Woods, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.