There seems to be a great consensus when measuring the relationship between commercial plantations and climate change. In general, the increase in the emission of greenhouse gases, as a result of industrial development, such as carbon dioxide, has begun toimpact the climatic conditions of the planet, leading to global warming being currently considered one of the main problems of our societies. In particular, when it comes to talking about climate change, there are mainly two ways of dealing with it, on the one hand, keeping carbon in its solid state, and on the other hand capturing it, it is in the latter where commercial plantations enter to play a crucial role.
In the first case, a reduction in the use of fossil fuels seems to be the best alternative, since according to a study carried out by IPCC (2014), 65% of carbon emissions come from its use. However, growth in the size of annual emissions is expected to continue to increase at levels similar to the current one by 2030. In this context, the second case comes to play a fundamental role, where the science that supports this process could be summarized quite simply. Trees capture carbon dioxide from the environment and transform it into wood, and this process is accelerated when analyzing fast-growing forests such as commercial plantations. According to Myers et al (1991), one hectare of Pine or Eucalyptus in a tropical region has the capacity to capture about 10 tons of carbon dioxide per year, or the equivalent of carbon emitted by 7.2 cars of an average citizen of Bogotá. Consequently, it seems that an effective way to mitigate climate change is the proliferation of fast growing commercial plantations throughout the planet, however, this option alone is not enough.