Afforestation vs DAC: Why It's Not a Competition
“DAC removes 1.3 million tonnes per year. A single good year of global forest growth removes 10 gigatonnes. Why are we spending billions on machines when we could just plant trees?” This framing shows up constantly, and it’s wrong in a specific way that’s worth unpacking — because the people making the argument often genuinely care about climate outcomes. Afforestation and DAC don’t compete for the same slot in the climate portfolio. They address different risk profiles, operate on different timescales, and fail in different ways. The question isn’t which one to choose. The question is how to use each where it actually works. ...