Media Inquiries:
Offsite: Roxanne Sutton,1t.org US Communications Consultant
Onsite: Kevin O’Hara, 1t.org US Lead, 202-520-1084
Embargoed until 6AM EET November 10, 2022
More Than 55 Billion Trees Pledged by US Entities to Meet Critical Climate Goals
At COP27, 1t.org US proves power of unique multi-sectoral community to use nature-based solutions for good
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 10, 2022: As leaders from around the world gather in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt for the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org — a broad-based coalition of companies, subnational governments, and nonprofits — has stepped up to conserve, restore and grow over 55 billion trees in support of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and as part of a global effort to conserve, restore and grow one trillion trees by 2030.
In the wake of significant United States federal action on trees and forests, the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org is advocating for the need and opportunities to build functional, scalable, transparent and replicable public-private partnerships to advance natural climate solutions. The 1t.org U.S. community serves the critical role of connecting key actors from across stakeholder groups, spotlighting innovations that are ready to scale, and unlocking private sector partnerships and targeted investment flows to scale conservation and restoration. To ensure bold and responsible action, radical collaboration and candid communication, 1t.org U.S. pledges are required to report on progress annually.
“The importance of the 1t.org U.S. community cannot be overstated,” said Jad Daley, American Forests President and CEO and U.S. Chapter of 1t.org Co-Chair. “This community fills the critical role of connecting those with expertise to those with funding and capital to those who can create policy changes on the ground. We’re ensuring that forest restoration efforts are done right and at speed to meet critical climate goals.”
“The U.S. Chapter of 1t.org and its community of practice are an example for what we can do in other countries and regions,” said Nicole Schwab, Co-Director of the Platform to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions at the World Economic Forum, “to build a nature-positive economy requires at-scale collaboration between all stakeholders groups across the global north and south, and across generations. I’m inspired by the 1t.org U.S. community’s commitment to bold collective action and their significant leadership role in the global restoration movement.”
There is no way to limit global warming to 1.5°C without protecting, restoring and managing trees and forests. In the U.S. alone, there are up to 146 million acres that have the potential to be reforested and doing so could capture 372 million tonnes of CO2 per year — an increase of more than 40 percent annually. Additionally, forests are critical for human civilization, businesses and economies to prosper. In urban areas, they improve air quality and mitigate heat islands. Forests also harbor 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, and are a treasure trove of innovation and a source of subsistence, medicine and survival for 350 million people.
Over the past year, the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org has increased multi-sectoral ambition for natural climate solutions, including from corporations, local governments and non-governmental organizations. For example, Aspiration, a financial institution driving climate action, increased its pledge to 1 billion trees by 2030 after surpassing its original goal of 100 million trees. Meanwhile the Arbor Day Foundation, acknowledging the need to set ambitious goals to meet tough climate challenges, increased the scale and speed of its pledge from 100 million to 500 million trees in just five years.
Additionally, new state and local governments, including Houston, Texas; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and the Michigan State Department of Natural Resources, have joined the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org this year, committing to restore and grow trees for nature and people. These subnational pledges, spanning from Hawaii to Delaware, include a variety of unique and vital ecosystems, and have committed to conserve, restore, and grow 273,426,743 trees between them.
“The City of Houston is proud to partner with the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org in its commitment to conserve, restore, and grow one trillion trees by 2030,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston, Texas. “As the ‘Bayou City,’ we understand the importance of establishing ambitious resilience goals to ensure that Houston is increasingly prepared to meet the challenges of high temperatures and flooding. Through our Resilient Houston strategy and our Climate Action Plan, we are committed to planting 4.6 million trees in our city by 2030. This pledge aligns with our intent to use nature-based solutions to make our communities resilient and restore and protect our natural environment.”
Other corporations and non-governmental organizations that have joined the 1t.org U.S. platform over the past year include: Orion, CGI, MetLife, Nice-Pak, Treepoints, Tree-Plenish, and the International Society of Arboriculture. They join organizations like Salesforce — a founding member of 1t.org — who have committed to actions that support the trillion trees mission.
“The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) is excited to join the US Chapter of 1t.org and build a connection between our global network of more than 25,000 professional arborists and urban foresters with the 1t.org community,” said Caitlyn Pollihan, ISA CEO and Executive Director. “As part of our pledge, we’re committing to utilize our technical expertise and educational tools around tree resources in order to foster a greater worldwide knowledge of the benefits of trees. We look forward to supporting this community with technical expertise, research, technology and education.”
The U.S. Chapter of 1t.org now comprises 97 entities working together to advance natural climate solutions in the United States and around the world. We look forward to scaling collective impact with both new partners and ongoing leaders in the trillion trees community.
Onsite at COP27, the power of public-private partnerships will be discussed in a session hosted by 1t.org U.S. and American Forests featuring Gillian Caldwell, Chief Climate Officer of USAID; Ellen Jackowski, Chief Sustainability Officer of Mastercard; John-O Niles, Senior Manager Natural Climate Solutions of Salesforce; and Jad Daley, President and CEO of American Forests.
- Saturday, November 12, 3 to 4 p.m. EET: Cultivating an Enabling Environment for NCS Public-Private Partnerships. Livestream can be watched here.
Learn more about the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org at us.1t.org.
About the U.S. Chapter of 1t.org
The U.S. Chapter of 1t.org is a community of U.S.-based companies, nonprofit organizations, and governments committed to reaching the global goal of creating healthy and resilient forests. 1t.org US is led by a Secretariat made up of staff from the World Economic Forum and American Forests, and directed by its Stakeholder Council. To conserve, restore and grow one trillion trees by 2030 with unprecedented scale and speed, we need to mobilize leadership from cities to wilderness, for this and future generations.