illuminem’s Post

𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅 🌿 We are approaching Christmas, which marks the end of this paradoxes series. But before lighting the candles, we must tackle several particularly twisted and intriguing paradoxes. Today, we explore the Nature Paradox, a riddle wrapped in bark and rooted in the soil of the mid-1970s, when scientists first asked if we could use trees to slow climate change. The premise sounds simple. Trees grow, and as they do, they inhale carbon, exhale oxygen, and store carbon. If you plant new trees, you’re absorbing carbon in the tree and in the soil. But trees don’t grow forever. At some point, forests mature and no longer absorb carbon. Carbon credits for afforestation and reforestation are only issued while the trees are growing and actively removing more carbon than they emit. You don't get credits for storing the carbon after that. Once a forest is fully grown, carbon funding for ongoing management dries up—unless you can demonstrate that the forest is at risk of being cut down.  In such cases, you could claim carbon credits for “avoiding deforestation”. 🌀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅: to secure ongoing financial support through carbon credits, a mature forest must be at risk of deforestation. Yet the goal of forest restoration is to eliminate that very risk! How do we resolve this paradox? Should carbon credits even be the tool we rely on for nature conservation and restoration? Or is it time to rethink our approach? Could a new mechanism—perhaps a "conservation credit"—better align with the realities of nature’s permanence, rewarding the ongoing protection of ecosystems regardless of carbon flux? But then again, carbon credits are thus far the only climate finance tool that ever reached scale - how to use this instrument in the best way to boost nature-based solutions? --------------------- 📖 This December, we’re unwrapping 24 paradoxes that challenge our thinking about carbon credits and climate action. Each day, we’ll explore a new puzzle from Renat Heuberger and Steve Zwick's upcoming book about carbon credits. Join us on this journey to rethink the world’s most promising yet paradoxical tool for saving the planet. ➕ You can find all previous paradoxes here: carbonparadox #naturebasedsolutions #ecosystems #carbonmarket