Ireland Plants 440 Million Trees By 2040 to Fight Climate Change
KABUL (MEP) – Ireland has big plans for combatting climate change. The country plans to plant 440 million trees over the next 40 years, according to its climate action plan.
Originally, the plan specified only the amount of land to dedicate to the project, not the number of trees. But later calculations translated those eight thousand hectares (19,768 acres) to 22 million trees per year, or 440 million by 2040, according to The Irish Times.
There is increasing momentum that re-vegetating our natural environments can be a major player in reducing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. After all, trees are excellent at taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it away as part of the tree’s tissue.
Irish officials announced that this will be part of an overall climate action plan and part of an overall goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. The report states:
“The Climate Action Plan puts in place a decarbonisation pathway to 2030 which would be consistent with the adoption of a net zero target in Ireland by 2050.”
Ireland’s climate action plan doesn’t just include trees, though. It also includes building retrofits and an increase in electric vehicle use.