Trees and Climate Change: How Forests Benefit the Climate

Forests combat climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in their biomass. According to World Resource Institute's Global Forest Review, the world’s existing forests absorb a net 7.6 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year — equivalent to about 30% of what is emitted every year. 

Trees remove many other harmful airborne pollutants that are associated with climate change. These include gaseous pollutants (gaseous molecules in the air) such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone, as well as particulate matter (a mixture of solid particle and liquid droplets in the air) like soot, smoke, dust, and organic chemicals. 

Trees and forests regulate temperatures in urban and rural landscapes. This reduces the amount of energy that’s needed to maintain safe indoor temperatures. Studies show that temperatures in urban areas can vary by 12-18°F between neighborhoods—and much of that variation can be attributed to differences in tree cover and green space. 

Healthy forests absorb rainwater and slow its movement, reducing flooding—and protecting soil integrity and water quality. Approximately 44% of the carbon that forests store is stored in the first meter of forest soils—making soil conservation a critical benefit of forests. Their ability to absorb and slow rainwater also helps increase the climate change resilience of forests, related ecosystems, and nearby communities. 

Forests contain 60,000 tree species, 80% of amphibian species, 75% of bird species, and 68% of the world's mammal species. Protecting and restoring biodiversity across all ecosystem types is critical in the fight against climate change. Combined, land and ocean ecosystems absorb around half of all greenhouse gases emitted through human activities. Biodiversity and climate profoundly impact each other — and protecting biodiversity is a critical part of the climate fight.