The children’s initiative Plant-for-the-Planet was initiated by 9-year-old Felix Finkbeiner in 2007
It all started with a school presentation and today Plant-for-the-Planet is a global movement with an ambitious goal: to fight the climate crisis by planting trees around the world.
Inspired by Wangari Maathai, who planted 30 million trees in Africa in 30 years, Felix formulated his vision: children could plant one million trees in every country on earth and thereby offset CO2 emissions all on their own, while adults are still talking about doing it. Each tree binds a CO2 intake of 10 kg per year.
The first tree is planted and Klaus Töpfer, former German Federal Minister of the Environment and executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) becomes official patron.
In 2009, at UNEP’s children and youth conference in South Korea, 800 children adopt a declaration for the climate summit in Copenhagen. At the end, Felix asks the audience who else will plant one million trees in their country. Within minutes, hundreds of children from 56 different nations come on stage to signal their support for the vision of Plant-for-the-Planet.
To make the initiative even more known, the campaign entitled “Stop talking. Start planting” commences. The photographs with famous supporters such as Harrison Ford, apl.de.ap, Prince Albert of Monaco and Michael Otto can be seen worldwide.
On Behalf of the United Nations
In November 2011, UNEP, the United Nations Environment Program, hands over the Billion Tree Campaign to the children of Plant-for-the-Planet. They now bear the responsibility for the World Tree Counter and have the official mandate to motivate all people to plant trees. A great honor – but also a great task!
The Scientific Evidence
In September 2015, the renowned scientific journal Nature published a study that the children had initiated. Dr. Tom Crowther from Yale University had for the first time researched the number of trees growing in the world (“Mapping tree density at a global scale”). There are about 3 trillion! He also proved to the children that there is space for a further trillion trees that can be planted without competing with agriculture or settlements. The goal of the children is scientifically substantiated!
The Kick-Off of the Trillion Tree Campaign
The children need help to plant a Trillion Trees! On March 9, 2018 30 representatives of companies, NROs, and VIPs like Prince Albert II of Monaco and Patricia Espinosa, General Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change UNFCCC, signed the Trillion Tree Declaration. Felix, Yugratna, Paulina and Sagar, Members of the Plant-for-the-Planet Global Board read out the declaration on the stage of the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo.
The Trillion Tree Campaign.
Three trillion trees currently exist globally. A further one trillion trees can be planted. We want to inspire the world to do just that.
These trees could capture 25% of human made carbon emissions every year.
If every single person, every company and every institution becomes climate neutral, we can save our future!