WHY TAKE ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE?

1 Q. How do we know climate change is happening?

A. Climate change is one of the most thoroughly studied scientific phenomena, with multiple independent lines of evidence confirming not only that it's occurring but that human activities are the primary driver. Here's how we know:

• Average GLOBAL Temperatures now over 1.1°C higher: Systematic temperature measurements date back to the 1880s, showing global average temperatures have increased by about 1.1°C (2.0°F) since pre-industrial times

• Recently this warming trend has accelerated, with the past decade being the warmest on record

• Consistent patterns: Warming is observed across land, ocean, and atmosphere, and across all continents

2 Q. What more evidence is there about climate change?

• Global sea level rise.  This has been low so far at about 8-9 inches since 1880, but the rate is accelerating and the big worry is sea level rise is unstoppable!  By 2100, sea levels are projected to rise significantly, with estimates ranging from 0.28 to 1.02 meters (0.92 to 3.35 feet) 

• Arctic sea ice decline: The Arctic has lost about 40% of its summer sea ice extent since satellite measurements began in 1979

• Glacier retreat: Over 90% of the world's glaciers are retreating, with documented losses on every continent

• Ocean acidification: Oceans have become approximately 30% more acidic since the Industrial Revolution as they absorb CO₂

• Permafrost thaw: Arctic permafrost is thawing at accelerating rates, releasing previously stored carbon

• Coral bleaching: Increasing ocean temperatures have triggered mass coral bleaching events worldwide

• Peer-reviewed research: Over 99% of climate scientists agree that human-caused climate change is occurring

3 Q. What’s causing climate change?

A. We are burning way too much fossil fuel. Which is creating way too much CO2. So our CO2 emissions are far more than can be absorbed naturally. Our CO2 has nowhere to go. So our CO2 is just building up in the air. 

Scientists have shown a clear relationship between the amount of CO2 in the air and global warming. So, more CO2 means more climate change. CO2 accounts for about 80% of global warming. 

A huge additional threat comes from methane. Methane is around 25 times more damaging than CO2 because it absorbs more heat. The biggest threat is from the Methane that exists naturally frozen solid in the permafrost in Tundra in Northern Russia and Canada. Scientists are hugely concerned that if global warming were to go over 2C, this permafrost could melt and release so much methane into the air it could create an unstoppable cycle of increasing global warming. 

4 Q. Why should I care about climate change?

A. Instead of keeping global warming well below 2C – which was agreed by World Leaders in 2015 in the Paris Agreement -  today we are on track for 2.7C, which means catastrophic climate change. This will affect ALL LIFE on our planet.

In just the last 5 years, the impact of climate change is now all over the news:

• Record high temperatures

• Bigger wildfires – eg the Los Angeles fires in early 2025

• Floods

• Stronger Hurricanes

Some climate impacts are irreversible - like species extinction and ice sheet loss, rising sea levels – and drying out of the Amazon rainforest

The way we respond to this today determines the world our children and grandchildren will inherit.  Everyone contributes to climate change and everyone can be part of solutions – like our offer to plant fruit trees.  Taking action isn't just about protecting polar bears, it's about protecting yourself and your family, and your quality of life today and tomorrow.

As temperatures continue to increase, we can expect:

• Bigger droughts, wildfires and floods

• Rising sea levels inundating low-lying cities

• Drought and floods and destroying crops and livelihoods

• Heat and drought turning farmland to wasteland and threatening famine

• Millions of climate refugees

• Conflict over resources

• Threat to all wildlife - and the extinction of thousands of species

5 Q. How urgent is this?

Latest information at May 2025 is that global warming is increasing MUCH faster than expected, and has shocked even the experts. Global temperatures in 2023, 2024 and 2025 so far has shattered previous records. Something is accelerating climate change, and scientists don’t fully understand what it is.  The decline is so large the suspicion is this may be caused by reduced reflection of sunlight by clouds.   The basic actions for us all remain the same – cut our use of fossil fuels and cut CO2 emissions.

ABOUT TREE PLANTING

 6 Q. Why plant trees?

Because trees as they grow remove CO2 from the air. In fact, every 50 of the trees we plant on average remove 1 Tonne of CO2 every year.  Over 30 years, that’s 30 Tonnes of CO2 removed for every 50 trees!

7 Q. How do I know the trees will not die or get cut down?

A. As part of the ongoing monitoring over 30 years, our trees are checked every year by satellite and physically inspected.  Trees are managed by local farmers who have multiple incentives to look after the trees.  For every surviving tree, the farmer is paid €0.1 each year for 20 years.  Any trees that die are replaced free of charge. And the fruit from the trees has high value to the local farmers for food and income.  All the trees contribute to creating Carbon Credits that fund these payments to the farmers, so it is in everyone’s interest to keep the trees growing well the 30 years of the contract.

8 Q. Is Tree Planting enough to remove all CO2?

A. “Nature-based solutions such as protecting and restoring forests could contribute to removing around 10% of current global emissions of around 40 billion Tonnes CO2 annually.” In addition, Scientists estimate approximately 0.9 billion hectares of extra tree cover could be supported globally without encroaching on urban or agricultural areas

9 Q. Why are trees important for the environment?

A. Trees are vital ecosystem components that provide oxygen, sequester carbon dioxide, filter air pollutants, prevent soil erosion, preserve biodiversity, regulate water cycles, and mitigate climate change impacts. They serve as keystone species in many ecosystems, supporting countless other lifeforms.

10 Q. How do trees help combat climate change?

A. Trees absorb CO2 during photosynthesis and store carbon in their wood, roots, and surrounding soil.  The Project Design Document (PDD) for this project, approved by Plan Vivo, shows that on average, the “expected carbon benefits” are for each tree to remove 20.3kg of CO2 per year.   Large-scale tree planting represents one of our most effective natural climate solutions.

11 Q. How do trees improve air quality?

A. Trees filter airborne particulates by trapping them on leaves and bark. They absorb pollutants like nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulphur dioxide, and ozone. One acre of mature trees can annually provide oxygen for 18 people and remove 70 times more pollution than an acre of grass.

12 Q. What role do trees play in water conservation?

A. Trees reduce stormwater runoff by capturing rainfall on leaves and allowing water to flow down trunks into the soil gradually. Their roots filter water pollutants, prevent erosion, and improve groundwater recharge. A single large tree can intercept over 1,000 gallons of rainwater annually.

13 Q. How do trees support biodiversity?

A. Trees create habitats and food sources for countless organisms. A single large mature tree can support hundreds of different species of insects, birds, and mammals. Trees provide nesting sites, shelter, and critical connections in food webs. Native tree species are particularly valuable for local wildlife.

14 Q. Why fruit trees?

A. Fruit trees provide additional value including:

• Fruit for food and for sale as income

• Higher Resilience against crop failure: Tree crops often survive when annual crops fail due to drought or pests

• Lower input costs: Established fruit trees typically require fewer purchased inputs than annual crops

• Water conservation: Deep tree roots access groundwater unavailable to crops, critical in drought-prone regions

• Microclimate creation: Shade from fruit trees can protect other crops by reducing soil temperatures by 5-10°C

·       Maximizing land productivity by intercropping fruit trees with vegetables

15 Q. How cost-effective is tree planting as an environmental solution?

A. Tree planting is widely recognised as among the most cost-effective climate solutions available. For maximum impact, tree planting needs to be part of a comprehensive climate strategy that includes emissions reductions.

16 Q. Where do you plant trees?

A. We plant trees in Madagascar.  50% of the trees are fruit trees. Trees in tropical areas grow much faster than in the UK or other Northern Hemisphere countries

In 2022, monetary poverty affected about 75% of the people in Madagascar, according to the World Bank and 75% also suffer from food insecurity.  Access to healthcare is inadequate while high fertility, teenage pregnancy (about one-third of girls 15-19 are a mother already) and low education completion (only about half of all children complete primary school) erode future human capital.

17 Q. What happens to the trees at the end of the 30 year contract?

A. The land already belongs to the local farmers.  Because of the ongoing annual value of the fruit, it would make financial sense for the farmers to continue to grow and replant fruit trees where necessary.

18 Q. Where is the Calculation that 50 trees removes 1 Tonne of CO2 per year?

A. The Carbon removed comes from the “expected carbon benefits” in the Plan Vivo PDD.  See: See:https://www.planvivo.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=b4cec739-4974-489a-b473-01007aa56822

See Table on Page 22: Table 3.8d: Agroforestry - Plan Vivo Certificate Potential

Pot. PVCs (t CO2e) 2436 from 10 ha = 243.6 Tonnes/hectare

Ie 243.6x1000 kg/400 trees/30 years = 20.3kg/tree/year

So 50 trees x 20.3 kg/per tree/year = about 1 Tonne of CO2 per year

Over 30 years, = 1 Tonne x 30 years = 30 Tonnes

Note also that our price includes a 15% contingency 

19 Q. Where is the Calculation that the fruit over 30 years is worth 30x more than a donation to plant 50 trees?

A. Starting with Madagascar-specific data from Google about numbers of fruits per tree and street prices for fruit, particularly for avocados and mangoes, we made conservative assumptions to convert these to realistic averages over 30 years taking into account lower numbers of fruit in early years.  We then combined these with conservative assumptions about the amount of wastage, and prices that farmers may realistically achieve.  We also added in the Payments to Smallholder Farmers per surviving tree for the first 20 years.

The resulting figure shows the fruit is worth 30 times more than the donation.  The calculations were reviewed and agreed by our team, by GDV and by members of the Climate Lab team who put together the Carbon submission to Plan Vivo.  Note that the 30x number in reality is expected to be more, as Families can plant additional crops under the trees.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER WAYS TO REMOVE CO2

21 Q. What’s the difference from organisations that work to prevent deforestation?

A. Half of the world’s rainforest has been destroyed in the last 40 years. Despite international condemnation, there is still much work to be done to stop the destruction of rainforests. We support the efforts of organisations which seek to work with local communities to prevent deforestation

But the major difference is we plant more trees, and more trees REMOVE CO2 from the air.   In our view this is more valuable, because every 50 additional trees like we are planting removes 1 Tonne of CO2 every year for the 30+ years the trees are growing.

20 Q. In what countries does N0CO2 operate?

A. N0CO2 operates Internationally.  Today we can accept donations in GBP, Euros, and USD. Removing CO2 emissions is also International

6 Tonnes CO2 equivalent per person per year was the UK Government’s own calculation for “Territorial Emissions” in 2023. CO2 emissions for other countries in 2023 were:

USA                 14.3 Tonnes

Germany          7.1 Tonnes

France              4.1 Tonnes

UK                     6 Tonnes

Australia          14.5 Tonnes

Kenya, Tanzania, DRC  <0.4 Tonnes

 See: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/co-emissions-per-capita

ABOUT THE TREE-PLANTING

22 Q.Who Plants and Grows the Trees?

A. Our trees are grown and planted by the International NGO Graine de Vie (GDV) using their RPPR model: See GDV 2024 Annual Report pp.5-6  https://grainedevie.org/en/annual-reports/

GDV have planted over 65 million trees, currently 4million/year, in 8 African countries.  Over 50% are fruit cash crops, from 354 nurseries.

In these GDV run nurseries, saplings are grown from seed.

Then, the saplings are given free of charge to family farmers who commit to the GDV contract to grow the trees.  Farmers are give 400 tree saplings per hectare, 50% fruit trees, , who work to a 30 year contract using GDV’s proven methodology to plant and manage their trees. 

Key is that farmers benefit from owning ALL the fruit crops, plus the freedom to plant their own crops in-between the trees.

23 Q.How is the project using Carbon Credits?

A. The trees are grown to create Carbon Removal Credits and monitored for 30 years using the well-regarded Plan Vivo Methodology.  Details are in the PDD here: https://www.planvivo.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=b4cec739-4974-489a-b473-01007aa56822

The project uses Carbon Credits in a very innovative way. Instead of the usual model of a share of Carbon Credits belonging to the Community, with RPPR the Credits are owned by GDV and used to provide payments of €0.1/tree yearly to Farmers for each surviving tree.

Included as part of the GDV methodology, are satellite and on-site checks.  Because these are to Carbon Credit standards, these gives to all the highest validation the trees were planted, still exist, and the amount of the Carbon Credits they are creating each year.

HOW CAN I CUT MY CO2

24 Q. How much CO2 does Air Travel create?

A. A simple rule of thumb is you create 125 kg of CO2 per person for every hour of flight in Economy. How many hours is your flight?  It’s easy to search for on Google

For example London to Cyprus is about 4 hours each way.  So total of 8 hours emits around 1 Tonne of CO2 per person return.

Business and First Class are even more – because the seats occupy more space.  So Business Class is x3 and First Class is x4.

25 Q. What can I do to reduce my CO2 emissions?

A. Some people have chosen to set an example by stopping all their air travel, buying an electric car, radically reducing their heating and installing solar panels. That’s great! All credit to them. But for many of us this may not be realistic. 

For the rest of us, we can help stop climate change by these 3 critical actions:

1-Reduce our use of fossil fuels,

2-Remove the CO2 emissions we do create

3-Reach out and get others involved too.

 How many people could you reach out to? Today most people are concerned about climate change. If we each get 2-3 friends involved, and they do the same, this can have a huge multiplier effect. Together we can plant thousands and thousands more trees!

WHAT WE DO WITH YOUR DONATION 

26 Q. How much of my donation goes to growing and planting the trees?

A. For every £1 we receive:

80p goes to planting trees including growing seedlings and planting out of the saplings by members of the Community, including replacing trees that die.

N0CO2 is delivered by paid professionals, but managed by volunteers, which keeps our costs low.

27 Q. Where can I find out more?

A. More about the RPPR tree-planting model is in the Graine de Vie (GDV) 2024 Annual Report pp.5-6  https://grainedevie.org/en/annual-reports/

More detail is in the Project Design Document (PDD) for Voi Aina.  The trees are grown to create Carbon Removal Credits and monitored for 30 years using well-regarded Plan Vivo Methodology.  See:https://www.planvivo.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=b4cec739-4974-489a-b473-01007aa56822