SilviaTerra | Union Square Ventures

Before starting this memo I would like to touch some words on afforestation/reforestation programs (a.k.a planting trees) as a carbon offset mechanism. Planting trees has become the darling of many large companies that aim to become carbon neutral in the next couple of years. However, planting trees (as a carbon offset mechanism) has many issues:

But underlying these facts is an assumption that trees are commodities.Underlying these facts is a human view of time.As the forests shift, can we find opportunities to shift our own understanding?As the trees are pulled into the new patterns of a warming planet, can we learn to embark on our own migration—our own pilgrimage—a journey that slows us... See more

So on the one hand companies love afforestation as a carbon offset mechanism because it’s good for branding (everyone loves trees) and easy to pay for, but on the other hand, the results of such programs are very controversial.