Overview

• Offsetting 182 billion tonnes of carbon would require planting 24.75 million km² of new forest, a landmass larger than North America.
• Converting that much land to forest would force the displacement of communities, farmland and critical natural habitats.
• At an average European offset cost of $83 per tonne of CO₂, 95% of the world’s 200 largest fossil fuel companies would end up with negative net environmental valuations.
• Even at lower planting costs, compensating for those reserves would erase the market value of most companies and could bankrupt them under higher carbon prices.
• Analysts emphasize that large-scale afforestation cannot replace the urgent need to halt fossil fuel extraction and rapidly phase out emissions.