> but what happens when they get old and die? Bacteria and fungi release the carbon back into the air.
And at that point the forest is in steady state: growth of new trees offsets the decay of old ones.
Planting trees is only a temporary solution; you only get to count the credits once. Eventually much of the world will be covered in forests and different solutions will be needed.
But it's an extremely valuable temporary solution. More forests are a good thing, and hopefully by then electric airplanes will be a cheaper option than offsets.
And at that point the forest is in steady state: growth of new trees offsets the decay of old ones.
Planting trees is only a temporary solution; you only get to count the credits once. Eventually much of the world will be covered in forests and different solutions will be needed.
But it's an extremely valuable temporary solution. More forests are a good thing, and hopefully by then electric airplanes will be a cheaper option than offsets.