My rainforest pledge in detail, my goal and an assessment of impact

Over the course of my career, I’ve committed to protecting 100 acres of rainforest through the World Land Trust’s ‘Buy An Acre’ campaign. This initiative helps conserve biodiversity and also combats climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide (CO₂). I’ve just made my latest donation, bringing the total number I’ve donated up to 12 out of 100 acres so far.

I was curious what impact that would add up to versus my family’s carbon footprint, so I did a bit of research. Relevant numbers vary quite a bit depending on who you ask. First up, according to the Rainforest Trust Climate Action Fund an average acre of rainforest stores 153 tonnes (t) of CO₂ equivalents.

Things get a little fuzzier when it comes to my own footprint. A commonly cited figure I found says the average carbon footprint of a person in the UK is in a range of up to 12.7 tCO₂ per year. Transport is said to account for the largest portion of an individual’s carbon footprint – obviously including both car travel and aviation (for holidays etc).

Since I’m finding it hard to nail down a number, I’ll err on the side of caution and go with the top of that range – 12.7t. Multiplying that for my family of four I get 50.8t. But not so fast… My wife and I mostly work remotely and we run an electric car. According to a US emissions study reported in The Guardian, remote work can reduce emissions by up to 54% (depending on days per week).

Not definitive, but between that, the electric car, and a concerted effort to walk more I feel comfortable estimating our family footprint at 30tCO₂ per year.

Let’s do the maths

• 153tCO₂ × 100 = 15,300 tCO₂
• 15,300 ÷ 30 = 510

Let’s be cautious again and round 510 down to a nice round 500. So this means that achieving my 100 acre goal is equivalent to 500 years of my family’s carbon footprint. It also means if I keep up a pace of 5 acres per year that’s equivalent to roughly 25 years of my family’s footprint per year.

My pledge to protect 100 acres of rainforest will amount to around £10,000 over 20 years. Ouch. That’s a commitment that’s large enough to sting — because if it doesn’t hurt at least a bit, it probably isn’t enough. I can’t save the rainforests single-handedly, but I’d want my kids to know their old man did his best.

By the way, if you find any shaky assumptions here, feel free to contact me and let me know!