Climate
Natural Climate Solutions
“Natural climate solutions” are actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and modified ecosystems in ways that mitigate climate change, while also addressing other societal challenges.
The role of natural climate solutions in the fight against climate change continues to gain broader recognition. They can cost-effectively provide a third of the climate action needed by 2030 and, unlike other carbon removal technologies, are available and proven now [1]. There is a growing understanding that we cannot limit the rise of global temperature below two degrees Celsius and achieve ‘net-zero’ emissions by mid-century – the goals set forth by the Paris Agreement – without major investments in natural climate solutions today.
Despite this potential, natural climate solutions receive only a small fraction of the financing they need to be deployed at scale. There is an urgent need to attract more investment into this space, which requires investable and scalable propositions.
By investing in climate-positive forestry, Landscape Capital seeks to help bridge the gap between nature’s potential and what has been delivered on-the-ground to date, accelerating the transition to the renewable economy of the future.
How the Climate Benefits of Our Approach Add Up
Protection & Restoration
Permanent protection of existing forest remnants, and restoration of native forest protects and enhances biodiversity and native forest carbon stock.
Commercial Reforestation
FSC-certified commercial tree farms rapidly sequester carbon through a sustainable cycle of planting, harvesting and replanting.
Long-Term Storage
Substitution of Materials
Wood used in construction, and many other applications, emits less carbon in its manufacture and transport than other materials, like concrete and steel.
Relevant Resources
Regrowing natural forests is a prominent strategy for capturing additional carbon, but accurate assessments of its potential are limited by uncertainty and variability in carbon accumulation rates. To assess why and where rates differ, the authors of this report in Nature compile 13,112 georeferenced measurements of carbon accumulation.
This report in Nature explores the potential of mid-rise urban buildings designed with engineered timber to provide long-term storage of carbon and to avoid the carbon-intensive production of mineral-based construction materials.
This report from Science to Policy aims to help us to better understand the most up-to-date knowledge on greenhouse gas effects of various wood products compared to alternative materials, and what are the limitations. It also identifies important research gaps that should be covered to have a better understanding of the substitution effects.
The authors of this landmark 2017 report in PNAS show that NCS can provide over one-third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed between now and 2030 to stabilize warming to below 2 °C. Alongside aggressive fossil fuel emissions reductions, NCS offer a powerful set of options for nations to deliver on the Paris Climate Agreement while improving soil productivity, cleaning our air and water, and maintaining biodiversity.
Natural Climate Solutions
[1] Sources: Nature4Climate (www.nature4climate.org), as of May 2020; Griscom et al. 2017. Natural climate solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114(44): 11645–11650.
How the Climate Benefits of Our Approach Add Up
[2] Sources: Griscom et al. 2017. Natural climate solutions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114(44): 11645–11650; “Substitution Effects of Wood-based Products in Climate Change Mitigation,” Leskinen et. al, 2018; TIG Analysis.
[3] IPCC. 2006. Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Chapter 12: Harvested Wood Products.