Youth4planet

215 million hectares of deforested and degraded former forest land are capable of natural regrowth without significant human intervention—an area larger than Mexico. That’s according to a study published last week in Nature. The research, based on high-resolution satellite data analysis across the tropics, identified five nations—Brazil, Indonesia, China, Mexico, and Colombia—as having over half of this regeneration potential. The study considered a range of environmental and socioeconomic variables, from soil quality to population density. Key findings include: 🌳 Extent of regeneration potential: Approximately 215 million hectares (Mha) across the tropics, with a carbon sequestration potential of 23.4 gigatonnes over 30 years. 🌳 High-potential countries: Brazil, Indonesia, China, Mexico, and Colombia account for 52% of global regeneration potential. 🌳 Regional breakdown: Neotropical regions hold the largest regeneration area (98 Mha), followed by the Indomalayan tropics (90 Mha) and Afrotropics (25.5 Mha). 🌳 Carbon benefits: Potentially adds 1 gigaton of annual carbon sequestration, a 14% increase over current rates in primary tropical forests. 🌳 Assisted regeneration: In areas needing intervention, removing obstacles (e.g., fire protection) could enhance regrowth speed and ecological benefits. 🌳 Economic pathways: Funding regeneration through ecosystem services or carbon markets presents viable financial support mechanisms, though certification standards are still needed, say the authors. The study supports the argument that natural forest regeneration can offer a viable alternative to traditional tree planting in many regions, as it leverages existing ecological processes to restore degraded landscapes. While it is generally less labor-intensive and costly, successful natural regeneration can be accelerated via targeted policy measures that give these areas space to recover on their own. 🔬Williams, B.A., Beyer, H.L., Fagan, M.E. et al. Global potential for natural regeneration in deforested tropical regions. Nature (2024). https://lnkd.in/g8VvJ_c3 Photo: Results of farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) in Talensi District, Ghana, from 2019-2022. Image courtesy of World Vision.

Luxembourg, THANK YOU for standing with us in support of Youth4planet 🇱🇺's #CreatiVeloChallenge! We met extraordinary people and ascended Luxembourg City's Ancienne Côte d’Eich >60 times, pedaling until the Riese & Müller GmbH Load75 cargo bike’s batteries ran dry. What is the CreatiVelo Challenge? It began in 2023 with 70 university teams across India answering Youth4Planet's call to build solar-powered cargo bikes as symbols of climate action. Eight finalists took their creations into communities, media, and online, spreading awareness. Now, in 2024, we’ve taken the CreatiVelo Challenge to Luxembourg, the UK, and beyond. Here’s how you can join: 1. CREATE something inspired by your favorite SDG—a video, song, art, or story. 2. SHARE it on social media, then email it to christian@youth4planet.org or text +352 661474791. 3. For those going the extra mile, share on Y4P's Earthbeat app. Let’s keep pushing for decency, climate action, and a better world. #ClimateAction #DecencyNeeded #Luxembourg #Challenge #EUClimatePact #EUClimatePactAmbassadors Details at https://lnkd.in/em_QY4VN.

🚨 #MeetYourLobbyist episode 4! A tour of the most powerful lobbies in the EU that are changing YOUR life, without you even knowing it. This time, we’re stopping at Copa Cogeca, the EU’s biggest farming lobby that claims to represent 22 million farmers & their family members (claim debunked here: https://lnkd.in/eGgK_Yja) Copa has a level of access to decision makers like no others, attending meetings nobody else does, accessing confidential documents and sometimes even briefing decision makers directly. It also knows when to flex its muscle and use this access: last year, Copa was part of the effort to withdraw a law that would slash pesticide use & weaken another one to restore EU’s ecosystems. So if you’re wondering why EU agriculture is the way it is, benefitting a tiny portion of farmers while so many struggle and continuing to use products that endanger our health and biodiversity, thank Copa 🔥

NEW! 🐮 Despite oftentimes misleading information from beef industry-funded documentaries, think tanks, university labs, and social media influencer campaigns, two of the best ways to reduce the climate impact of beef are to ⬇ reduce your intake and 🗑️ curb waste. We've known for some time that beef consumption is a major contributor to climate change and other environmental issues, such as deforestation, land degradation, water pollution, and biodiversity loss – but there are solutions. Check out the full article by Jonathan Foley titled "Greenwashing and denial won’t solve beef’s enormous climate problems" - https://lnkd.in/e8iVgpC3 #Greenwashing #SustainableBeef #RegenerativeAgriculture #ClimateSmartBeef #CarbonNeutralBeef #EthicalMeat

I have been energy blind my entire life. In the past years, I have tried to correct that. This video of Olympic cyclist Robert Förstemann versus a toaster is a funny and innocent example of my energy blindness. I had no idea powering a toaster would take that much work. As they write at the end of the video, it takes: · 1 Robert to toast a slice of bread · 180 Roberts to power a car · 43,000 Robers to power an airplane And one example from the less innocent side of things: (there are many more) The mining sector delivers the metals needed for renewable energy and that sector is famous for inhumane working conditions, land degradation and water pollution in the Global South. The green transition is not only about 1:1 replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy—though we need a lot more geothermal, wind, and solar energy. It just won't work if we, simultaneously, continue business as usual. The green transition is also about (1) reducing the total energy consumption and (2) a fair energy distribution. Source: The Toaster Challenge, A graduation project from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts filmed in Stockholm, Sweden.

This coffee shop in the UK had enough of single use cups. Their stunt went viral: What you see are 15,000 disposable coffee cups, collected over 1 month. Customers who requested a disposable cup had to endure a ‘walk of shame’ through the sea of cups to reach the counter. Customers who had brought their own reusable cup had their orders taken at the door. A risky move, but the campaign went viral, globally. And Otto's Coffee Shop sales followed :) ___ We focus too much on explaining climate change through complicated terms and charts. But it's about the stories: the good and the bad. Show the problems, show the solutions. Let people relate in 1 second. That's how we change mindsets. Not with another report. Would you bring your own cup to this store? 👉 Hit follow to learn more.  ♻ Repost to reach more people. PS: Creds to Stephen Fern for the post

Please listen to NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus and help spread his message. He is one of my personal heroes and such a big inspiration

😱 According to Oxfam, the world's richest 1% today own more wealth than 95% of humanity combined. 😱 I repeat: The top 1% own more wealth than 95% of humanity combined. 👑 It's the elephant in the room, that nobody wants to talk about: Capitalism in its current form has brought us back to feudal times, where living standards are first and foremost decided by what family you are born into. 💍 50 years of Neoliberalism and its current successor Leftliberalism ("devil in disguise") have taken their toll on social stability and ecology, yet even most people that consider themselves "progressives" refuse to even think beyond growth addiction, axing corporate power or questioning the valuation logic in finance. 🗽 Inequality is the single most important factor to eradicate democracies - not social media, not populists, not SUVs or electic cars. 🔢 Some more numbers from the report make it clear: 1️⃣ In 1987, the richest 0,001% accounted for 3% of the world's GDP. Nowadays the value of these approx. 3.000 housholds accumulates to 13% - or 14 Trillion USD. 2️⃣ At the same time, 46% of the world's population live under the poverty line of 6,85 USD / day. 3️⃣ 2 corporates control 40% of global seeds, 3 asset managers "manage" 20% of the world's asset values, 75% of global marketing spending goes to 3 tech corporations. 🤔 We can add numbers beyond the horizon, what counts is this: The current economic model destroys planet and people for the benefit of a few ultra rich, mainly in the US. That's what every single person should work on, all other problems derive from that, yet daily news keep us busy fighting over BS. #sinnfluencer #inequality #humanrights #business #venturecapital #privateequity #winnertakesall #unicorn #zebra #thinkoutsidethebox

We won 🎉🎉 it. We will make it as The Earthshot Prize final 15 winners 🏆. Congratulations Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO), Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO)-Uganda , GAYO Eco-Club Campus Chapters (GECCC) . This is just the beginning and we look forward to achieving more. Go #ZeroWastCities #YouthClimateCouncil #BreakfreefromPlastics Joshua Amponsem and DESMOND Alugnoa 🎉🏆🤩