House GOP’s Climate Plan Discussed During Trillion Trees Act Hearing

On February 26, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on the Trillion Trees Act (H.R.5859), one of the bills comprising House Republicans’ climate change policy package. At the hearing, some Republicans, including the bill’s sponsor Representative Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), declared the bill a “pragmatic first step” to draw down existing atmospheric CO₂ by planting trees and making changes to forest management and use. Democrats on the Committee criticized the bill as an incomplete solution that fails to address CO₂ emissions or deforestation of existing forests.

Westerman described the Trillion Trees Act as part of a broader initiative to develop “practical solutions” to climate change, in reference to the larger package of climate bills currently being developed by House Republicans. He acknowledged that planting trees is not a complete solution to climate change, but said that the bill would reduce carbon emissions and concentrations of carbon already in the atmosphere by promoting reforestation, forest management, and sustainable forest use.

Steve Marshall, Senior Vice President for Policy at SmartLam, a mass timber company, testified in favor of the Trillion Trees Act. Specifically, Marshall commended the Act for the beneficial effect it would have on the cross-laminated timber (CLT) industry. CLT is a building material that has been recognized for its potential to reduce building emissions and sequester carbon by storing carbon directly in a structure’s wooden building materials. The use of CLT offsets emissions from other building materials, such as concrete, which is produced in a very carbon-intensive manner.

In his testimony, Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) acknowledged the need for nature-based solutions, such as tree planting, for carbon sequestration but warned against losing sight of the need to cut emissions. Other Democrats on the Committee echoed these concerns. Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said that a bill should not be considered a climate solution if it allows for future deforestation or fossil fuel use. 

Dr. Carla Staver, Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University, agreed with Huffman’s critiques of the Act, stating that although both reforestation and preventing deforestation would be beneficial, the priority should be protecting existing ecosystems and forests. She also expressed concerns about the Act’s efficacy. Staver questioned the study underpinning the legislation, which claims that a global tree-planting project could offset 20 years of carbon emissions if the maximum number of trees are planted. Staver instead estimates that the potential offset is closer to four years of carbon emissions. Staver also pointed to the slow growth of forests as a factor limiting the bill’s impacts.

The hearing also focused on the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act of 2019 (H.R.5435), introduced by Chairman Grijalva. The bill would create emission reduction targets for public lands and has generally seen support from Democrats and criticism from Republicans. For more information on H.R.5435 from the hearing, click here.

 

Author: Abby Neal