"Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics," according to [1]a recent announcement from the University of California, Riverside .

> In a new modeling study [2]published in Communications Earth & Environment , researchers at the University of California, Riverside, showed that restoring forests to their preindustrial extent could lower global average temperatures by 0.34 degrees Celsius. That is roughly one-quarter of the warming the Earth has already experienced. The study is based on an increase in tree area of about 12 million square kilometers, which is 135% of the area of the United States, and similar to estimates of the global tree restoration potential of 1 trillion trees. It is believed the planet has lost nearly half of its trees (about 3 trillion) since the onset of industrialized society.

The Washington Post noted that the researchers factored in how tree emissions interacted with molecules in the atmosphere, " [3]encouraging cloud production, reflecting sunlight and cooling Earth's surface ."

> In a news release, the researchers acknowledge that full reforestation is not feasible... "Reforestation is not a silver bullet," Bob Allen, a professor of climatology at the University of California at Riverside and the paper's lead author, said in [4]a news release . "It's a powerful strategy, but it has to be paired with serious emissions reductions."



[1] https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/05/29/does-planting-trees-really-help-cool-planet

[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02343-9

[3] https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/reforestation-can-t-undo-global-warming-but-it-could-help-study-says/ar-AA1GiTlU

[4] https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2025/05/29/does-planting-trees-really-help-cool-planet