Reforestation Hub: Reforestation Opportunities for Climate Change Mitigation

Natural climate solutions, like reforestation, represent ways that we can use nature to help constrain our climate crisis. Writ large, they span protection, restoration, and improved land management actions and in the United States can provide up to of 1.2 Pg CO2 e/yr, the equivalent of 21% of current net annual emissions of the United States.

In particular, the United States’ forests can play a crucial role in our efforts to mitigate climate change. Historically, there were an estimated 1 billion acres of forests in the United States. Regrowing and replanting a portion of the historically forested lands would generate significant climate mitigation benefits. The Reforestation Hub builds on research led by the Nature Conservancy to map lower cost and more feasible options to restore forest cover across the lower 48 United States. These maps show that reforestation could capture up to 535 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, or more than a quarter of US annual emissions from cars and light-duty trucks.

Not only do new forests help address climate change, they can prevent soil erosion and improve water quality, enhance habitat for fish and wildlife habitat, and make our communities healthier and safer.