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

Pagel, Jeffrey 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 & Environment Grantham Research Institute
Subjects:	T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q5 - Environmental Economics > Q50 - General Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q10 - General
Date Deposited:	15 Aug 2024 14:18
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 04:10
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/124551

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