Nov 18, 2022 | written by: Tommaso Ciuffoletti
Last year, for Treedom's #WorldEnvironmentDay campaign, we chose a very simple concept: 'A greener world is a fairer world'. It's a statement we remain firmly convinced of today.
There is an intrinsic reason why this statement makes sense. The vision that frames human beings on one side and 'nature' on the other has been replaced by one that sees humans as responsible actors in the environment we inhabit. Our needs and aspirations are not denied, but they must be 'sustainable'. They must, in other words, be compatible with the prospect of a rich world for years and generations to come.
Taking this approach, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were set by the United Nations to ensure our planet and our species have the possibility of a future. Our work at Treedom contributes to the achievement of 10 of those 17 goals, because in planting trees, we use a method that guarantees social and environmental benefits.
A GREENER WORLD IS A FAIRER WORLD. Because the two are and must be inextricably linked.
What's more, statistics show that although the world built on the current development model has certainly guaranteed impressive demographic growth rates, a decisive reduction in infant mortality and food resources unimaginable only a century ago, unfortunately it has also unloaded the negative impact of the choices of some, on many others.
Research, published on 28 October in Science Advances, estimates that the global economy lost between $5 trillion and $29 trillion from 1992 to 2013 due to man-made global warming. But the effect was worst in low-income tropical countries, with an average reduction of 6.7 per cent in their national income, while high-income countries only experienced an average decrease of 1.5 per cent.
Global economy lost between US$5 trillion and $29 trillion from 1992 to 2013, as a result of human-driven global warming. But the effect was worst in low-income tropical nations Fonte: Nature
COP27 will have to address the issue of offsets to redress at least part of this imbalance. But these are ex-post interventions. Which are all very well and good, but they will be a chase made with ever-shortening breath, if actions are not also put in place to reduce the gap of this injustice.
That is why when we talk about sustainability, we must keep the two themes together, environmental and social, or every discourse loses its meaning. And for us this has been clear for a long time. We repeat it every time, even to those customers, private or business, who sometimes do not seem very interested in the social side. Well, our trees give environmental and social benefits and that is how it is, and if that were not the case there would be no point in planting trees.
