Poland calls for more forests to be planted to help combat global warming
Ahead of the upcoming UN climate talks in Warsaw, Poland has called for more forests to be planted globally to help offset carbon emissions, and slow global warming. Since Poland is so dependent on coal for its energy, the hosting of these talks has been controversial. Additionally, Poland has clashed with the European Union previously over the logging of the Bialowieza Forest.
However, Poland has insisted that it needs time to decrease its reliance on coal. Meanwhile, the Polish government has launched various campaigns to promote the use of planting forests. This would capture carbon. Additionally, the government has called for the development, sale, and use of more electric vehicles to combat diesel pollution.
Poland is hosting this year’s annual climate summit in a bid to bring the Paris Agreement into reality. The hosts say that they are calling for major changes to the way society works, in order to make sure “no-one gets left behind”. Environment Minister, Henryk Kowalczyk, noted that, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), it as not possible to stop global warming without cutting emissions.
The IPCC recently released a report that said, in order to keep the temperature increases to 1.5 degrees celsius, major changes are needed. This includes the way that people use energy in all aspects of their life, including their living, travel, and food. In order to do this, the report says that additional techniques to remove carbon would be necessary.
Kowalczyk said at a recent news conference: “The Polish presidency draws attention to this through encouraging the world to undertake concrete measures in this field. We have drafted a ministerial declaration ‘Forests for Climate’ which sends a message regarding the undertaking of appropriate steps to maintain and to increase the CO2 capture potential by forests ecosystems and soils.”
