May

Some people say “let’s invent a machine to sequester carbon” but “we already have a fantastic productive system to sequester lots of carbon. And beyond that, it produces food, timber, creates biodiversity, gives dignity to peasant labour” and promotes life in Syntropy (excerpt from short film made specially to be presented at COP21, Paris). 

So, what is this invention? 

It’s a Terrestrial invention, refined and matured along billions of years, that intelligent people are replicating, known among humans as «Agroforestry». 

Want to spend billions in carbon capture? 

Spend in agroforestry. And while capturing carbon, you will also be feeding the world, saving biodiversity, recovering our soils, creating local jobs, lowering the temperature, bringing moisture to soils, reducing inputs, among many other great things. On top of all the benefits, you do not need to use any rare materials for building expensive technology, only what’s available in each place, making it a resilient and strategical solution for any country.

Photo by Monica Pinheiro, free to use if you respect the license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

March

 

"Halting land transformation and degradation could contribute 6.6 (range 2–11) GtCO2e per year to greenhouse gas emission reductions between 2020 and 2050, and land restoration-related activities could contribute a further 18.6 (range 1.8–35.5) GtCO2e per year over the same period, while simultaneously restoring ecological function and ecosystem services, and in some cases, biodiversity" p.73, United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

May

“(…) whenever suitable conditions to move demand and supply closer can be identified by reducing the number of technological and human intermediaries and intermediations, a series of effective possibilities emerge to reduce the amount of non-renewable energy inputs via increasing the quality of technology outputs and their social usefulness.” Transforming innovation for decarbonisation? Insights from combining complex systems and social practice perspectives. Nicola Labanca et al (2020). Energy Research & Social Science, vol. 65, 101452. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).