The economics of tree-planting for carbon mitigation: A global assessment

This article provides a framework for identifying least-cost sites for carbon sequestration through tree-planting and deriving carbon cost curves at a global level in a scenario of limited information. Special attention is given to country risk considerations and the sensitivity to spatial datasets. Our model results, illustrated by grid-scale maps, show that most least-cost carbon uptake projects are located in Africa, South America and Asia. By comparing emissions reductions through tree-planting with the emission abatement scenarios of integrated assessment models (RICE-99) for a 100-yr time span, we find that global carbon uptake of planted forests could represent between 5% to 25% of the emissions reduction targets of relevant climate change mitigation scenarios.