More than just carbon: the socioeconomic co-benefits of large-scale tree planting

Pagel, Jeff ORCID: 0000-0003-4130-7060 and Sileci, Lorenzo ORCID: 0000-0003-4110-9427 (2024) More than just carbon: the socioeconomic co-benefits of large-scale tree planting. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment Working Papers (410). Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

One potential nature-based solution to jointly address poverty and environmental concerns is large-scale tree planting. This study examines the National Greening Program (NGP) in the Philippines, a major tree planting initiative involving 80,522 localized projects that directly or indirectly generated hundreds of thousands of jobs. Utilizing a dynamic difference-in-differences approach that leverages the staggered implementation of the NGP, we find a significant and sizable reduction in poverty, measured via traditional and remotely sensed indicators. The NGP also spurred structural shifts, notably decreasing agricultural employment while boosting unskilled labor and service sector jobs. Our analysis estimates that the NGP sequestered 71.4 to 303 MtCO2 over a decade, achieving a cost efficiency of $2 to $10 per averted tCO2. These findings underscore the potential of tree planting as a dual-purpose strategy for climate mitigation and poverty alleviation.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Official URL:	https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publicatio...
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Geography and Environment Grantham Research Institute
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Date Deposited:	23 Jun 2025 13:18
Last Modified:	23 Jun 2025 13:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/128527

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