Dear Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Trees and Plants suck up CO2 as they grow, but then release it as they die and rot. However, we can prevent 50% of the CO2 being released when they die by turning the plants into biochar, which is fine grained carbon which can be buried in the ground where it remains safe for thousands of years. Pre Columbian Amazonian Indians have kept CO2 safe for over 2,500 years, which is a length of time that we must talk about when safely storing CO2. Biochar is a soil improver and cuts down on the need for fertilizers, reduces methane and nitrous oxides from the ground, filters out pollutants, and retains water. Quickly degrading rainforest soils caused by slash and burn farming can be kept fertile by the use of biochar. Crops are more abundant, grow faster, and longer.
What we have to do, with this plan, is to put a charge on all goods and services equal to the amount of money it will take to make enough biochar to neutralise the CO2 emissions of the goods. This money would have to go to a central fund to pay for neutralisation of the CO2 produced. Provided that the trees and plants are harvested sustainably and the biochar is buried in the areas of participating countries where the soil is the poorest, the quality improvement of the soil will increase the amount of food produced, and thus increase the wealth of the poorest.
The world’s soils hold more organic carbon than that held by the atmosphere and oceans combined and we would like you to inform all governments and political parties that Global Warming is reversible in this simple and cheap way.
