The Guardian view on trees for Christmas: our charity appeal is rooted in hope | Editorial

Fresh evidence of the role played by trees in absorbing carbon, and increased rates of deforestation, have guided our choice of charities this year

The role of nature in fighting the climate emergency has been one of the biggest environment stories of this year. That's because scientists no longer believe that emissions reductions will be enough to limit global heating to the 1.5C to 2C promised in the 2015 Paris agreement. That means that as well as limiting future emissions, we must focus attention and resources on finding ways to draw greenhouse gases that have already been released out of the atmosphere.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has long been viewed as an important tool. Increasingly, however, scientists believe that natural climate solutions could prove more effective than technological ones. A recent paper calculated that restoring nature could provide a third of the CO₂ reductions needed by 2030 to keep heating below 2C, and in March the UN declared that 2021-30 would be a decade of ecosystem restoration. In the UK, the Committee on Climate Change advised the government that to meet its goal of net zero carbon by 2050, 107 hectares (267 acres) would have to be planted with forest every day: perhaps 1.5bn new trees in all.