John,

As we grapple with the implications of the climate crisis, the world is exploring all kinds of high-tech solutions for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These creative ideas will take time to succeed and scale-up to the levels necessary to put a real dent in our global emissions. And as we’re all aware, we’re short on time to take major actions to prevent further damage to the earth’s natural systems.

Lucky for us, there are solutions already in place that have enormous potential to counteract our carbon emissions, if we implement them quickly and comprehensively. Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) are methods of sequestering (absorbing and storing) carbon and avoiding greenhouse gas emissions by harnessing and restoring ecosystems that have been doing this work for hundreds of millions of years [3]. These solutions include things like reforestation, improved agricultural practices, wetland restoration, and many other nature-based strategies.

How much do you know about Natural Climate Solutions? Take our quiz to find out!

By investing in Natural Climate Solutions such as improved land management, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems, we can work to reverse landscape degradation that inhibits land’s natural ability to sequester carbon, and harness these systems in our fight against the climate crisis [1, 2, 3].

Compared to carbon capture technology, Natural Climate Solutions are much more cost effective, less resource intensive, and, critically, they are ready to be implemented immediately. Some of the most promising pathways in the U.S. are reforestation, improved natural forest management, and ­avoided grassland conversion [4].

Take this quiz to test your knowledge about Natural Climate Solutions!

Here at WCV, we are working to elevate knowledge and implementation of Natural Climate Solutions in Washington, through work in the Legislature, with state agencies, and with supporters like you.

Want to learn more? Read this recent blog post about Natural Climate Solutions.

Onward,

Sally Paul
Evergreen Forests Program Associate

[1] IPCC, “Climate Change and Land: Summary for Policy Makers”, August 2019. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/08/4.-SPM_Approved_Microsite_FINAL.pdf
[2] IPCC, “Chapter 2: Land-Climate Interactions”, April 2019. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2019/08/2c.-Chapter-2_FINAL.pdf
[3] The Nature Conservancy, “Lands of Opportunity”, November 2017. https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/TNC_NCS_LandsofOpportunity_2017.pdf
[4] Fargione et al., “Natural climate solutions for the United States”, November 2018. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat1869
[5] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Report on the Environment: Carbon Storage in Forests”, accessed February 2020. https://cfpub.epa.gov/roe/indicator_pdf.cfm?i=86
[6] U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Washington’s Forest Resources, 2007-2016: 10-Year Forest Inventory and Analysis Report”, May 2019.
https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr976.pd