American Forests hosts unprecedented collaborative action on the part of government and concerned experts
Washington, DC. (July 16, 2018) — Last week, 16 U.S. Climate Alliance states convened in Washington, D.C. at an intensive three-day Learning Lab.
The hands-on workshop was designed by American Forests with assistance from the USFS Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and Michigan State University to engage leadership delegations from each Climate Alliance state with the nation’s top experts in sequestering carbon in forests and other land-based climate mitigation strategies.
The technical staff for the Learning Lab included members of the Forest-Climate Working Group, a coalition of 40 diverse forest sector organizations, as well as science and policy leaders from The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, American Farmland Trust, and Coalition on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.
Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests, said, “States are currently the driving force to deliver land-based climate solutions in America, which already capture and safely store 14 percent of our carbon emissions. This highly successful Learning Lab marks the beginning of an unprecedented partnership that will enable states to more effectively deliver natural climate solutions through forests and other lands, building on the expertise of America’s leading nonprofit and science organizations.”
The event was positioned as a stepping stone toward the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco September 12-14. Governors of the Climate Alliance states will join thousands of international leaders at the Summit to discuss ways to slow climate change. The Summit has a strong focus on land-based solutions like tree planting, increasing carbon storage in forests by altering management, protecting forests from development, and reducing emissions from forests by making them more resilient to fire and pests.
American Forests is well positioned to support states in their climate change efforts. Jad Daley of American Forests was the co-founder of the Forest-Climate Working Group in 2007 and has served as co-chair since that time. American Forests has been advancing on-the-ground carbon sequestration for 25 years through reforestation projects conducted in partnership with federal and state agencies and other partners, and has planted more than 55 million trees in all 50 states.
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ABOUT AMERICAN FORESTS
American Forests inspires and advances the conservation of forests, which are essential to life. We do this by protecting and restoring threatened forest ecosystems, promoting and expanding urban forests, and increasing understanding of the importance of forests. Founded in 1875, American Forests is the oldest national nonprofit conservation organization in the country and has served as a catalyst for many key milestones in the conservation movement, including the founding of the U.S. Forest Service, the national forest system and thousands of forest ecosystem restoration projects and public education efforts. Since 1990, American Forests has planted more than 50 million trees in all 50 states and nearly 50 countries, resulting in cleaner air and drinking water, restored habitat for wildlife and fish, and the removal of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
MEDIA CONTACT
Lea Sloan | Vice President of Communications | 202.370.4509 (direct) | 202.330.3253 (mobile) | lsloan@americanforests.org