Trees4Good - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions regarding planting trees to help with global warming

What government body are you registered with?
None. And that is quite deliberate. Governments are NOT going to solve the climate change crisis. Individuals with guts and who will put their money where their mouths are will. In November 2007 United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said a new report on climate change set the stage for a real breakthrough in tackling the issue.

"I come to you humbled after seeing some of the most precious treasures of our planet threatened by humanity's own hand," said the UN chief, who had just been on a fact-finding trip to Antarctica and South America. "All humanity must assume responsibility for these treasures."
"Let us recognise that the effects of climate change affect us all, and that they have become so severe and so sweeping that only urgent global action will do. We are all in this together - we must work together," Mr Ban added.

The problem is that all governments react in the same way - set up a committee, form an organisation, charge large membership fees (to pay huge salaries to their colleagues running the organisation) and then ultimately do nothing but talk for several years. The UK alone wants companies to pay £14,000 ($30,000) per year in fees.

We think this is typical of the attitude that got the world into this mess, and we do not wish to be part of it.

Instead of paying these crazy fees, we will act. We will plant trees instead. Like the UN we want to recognise we are all in this together, and we want to act together.

Where are you planting your trees?
We are planting our trees exclusively in areas that are currently not used for food production and do not already have trees on them. These areas are primarily wasteland in Kenya and wasteland in Borneo. Both of these areas are greatly impacted by global warming and have populations that are very keen to plant trees.

All of our land is Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) land. CDM allows Annex I (industrialised) countries to meet their emission reduction targets by paying for green house gas emission reduction in non-Annex I (developing) countries.

Example (Figures are hypothetical):
A company in Kenya (a non Annex I country) switches from coal power to biomass. The CDM board certifies that by doing this the company has reduced Carbon dioxide emissions by 100,000 tonnes per year. It is issued with 100,000 CER’s (Certified Emission Reductions). Under the Kyoto Protocol, the United Kingdom (an Annex I country) has to reduce its green house gas emissions by 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. If it purchases the 100,000 CER’s from the Kenyan company, this target reduces from 1 million tonnes/year to 900,000 tonnes per year making the goal easier to achieve.

Why are you planting Jatropha?
Because it grows very quickly - giving maximum CO2 intake at the fastest possible speed. Trees that take 20 years to mature are all well and good (and we will intermix some of these also) but we don’t believe we have 20 years to save the planet. We need to act now. Because Jatropha offers the locals and extra income they are keen to plant them.

In Borneo in particular by planting Jatropha we not only ensure new trees grow, but we stem the appalling tide of destruction that is currently occurring there as the locals rip up virgin rainforest to plant Palm oil. This happens because Palm earns them money. Money to live and to feed their children. Sanctimonious comments like “don’t do it, we need rainforest” are little use to people that are starving. A simple business plan that shows them how they can make money from land that has no other value is what the locals want and respond to. Trees4Good does just that.

What is your risk management strategy?
We will be putting in place traditional methods of management for this. In case of fire we will have fire breaks etc. Our plantations are very genetically diverse as well as strong - which will help protect the trees for eradication by disease. Couple this with the resistance of Jatropha and we have most of this covered. But just in case we intend to take out insurance against natural disasters, so that in any occurrence we can re-plant.

Is your land cleared for the purpose of planting?
No. As we have already explained our land is wasteland. Obviously we have to do some work on this land (such as clear grass etc.) but no wholesale land clearance takes place.

What size do the trees attain?
Our trees grow very rapidly to attain a height of 2.5 metres after 5-6 years.

What is the Crown cover or canopy projected cover (CPC)?
This is defined as being the percentage of the ground area within the vertical projection of the tree crowns. In this measure, tree crowns are treated as opaque units and canopy cover is estimated by vertically projecting outlines of tree crowns onto a horizontal plane. By using this measure we expect our CPC to be between 50% and 60% after five years.

Are your projects audited?
Absolutely. They are audited by local universities and also by the local branches of “Big 4” auditing firms such as PWC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). Who we use will depend largely on the most local to the projects.

Do we get a certificate and hard evidence of the trees being planted?
Of course. The trees you plant are given exact grid co-ordinates (via GPS), and a number. Your trees can be easily identified, and can even be visited! By using the worlds most reputable auditors we completely avoid the “double selling” issue that has haunted many other tree planting projects. Additionally because the trees produce revenue, double counting is actually shooting ourselves in the foot. We want to plant maximum numbers of trees becuase that maximises revenues for our clients.

You will also receive a regular newsletter and website updates to view (which will include video diaries of the plantation and local people). ALL of this can be placed on your own website or passed to your shareholders etc.

Do you register legally binding carbon rights and covenants over all plantings to ensure they are protected for any period of time?

The answer here is shorter than the question - yes. Once again though the trees will be protected by the local people as they will produce revenue. In tree planting schemes that Trees4Good have seen fail, one of the primary reasons is that the locals decide they need to use the land and so cut down the trees. This does not happen when they are making money from the land. That is another reason the Trees4Good proposition is win/win.

Is the growth of the plantings in the carbon pool measured and independently verified? If so, by whom?
Once again the answer here is yes. In this case every quarter and by our auditors. We will use only the best companies in the world to protect the trees and make sure that everything is above board. Our auditors report will be freely available.

Do you have approved databases recording all plantings, carbon sequestered and CO2 sold?
No. What we have is a database but audited by the worlds most trusted organisations, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers.
We have not seen any “approved” database that does not involve paying over $10k per year to a government body.

This is a tax. “Jobs for the boys”. One of the reasons that governments ultimately change so little.

We prefer to spend the $10k on tree planting - that’s our mission and we are sticking to it. If the government will audit our database for free - then it is always available. With the GPS monitoring, video diaries, our own database and other auditing tools we know we are doing the job that our clients want - planting trees. All of this material will be made available to all of our clients.