Offsetting global fossil fuel stores by planting trees is impossible

Trees would have to be planted on a vast proportion of global land mass to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from burning the world’s fossil fuel reserves

By Madeleine Cuff

19 June 2025

A tree-planting project in British Columbia, Canada

James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images

It would be nearly impossible to plant enough trees to compensate for the climate impact of burning through the world’s fossil fuel reserves. Offsetting the estimated 182 billion tonnes of carbon held in the reserves of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies would require covering more land with trees than the entirety of North and Central America.

The analysis, by Alain Naef at ESSEC Business School in France and his colleagues, assessed the cost and viability of offsetting the carbon emissions from burning the oil, gas and coal reserves held by the largest 200 fossil fuel firms around the world.

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The researchers found that an area greater than 24.75 million square kilometres would have to be planted with new trees to offset the impact of burning these reserves, swallowing the equivalent of the entire landmass of North America, Central America and parts of South America combined.

This would be impractical to achieve in reality, requiring the displacement of settlements, farmland and other existing natural habitats.

“There simply isn’t enough land available for the level of afforestation that would be needed to offset fossil fuel-related emissions,” says Rich Collett-White at UK energy analysts Carbon Tracker. “Pursuing anywhere near that level of afforestation risks increasing food prices – if farmland is diverted to afforestation – or indirectly causing deforestation elsewhere to meet global food demand.”