Why is wood seen as a climate-neutral fuel, but coal and oil are not? All these fuels are based on composed organism that collected carbons over their lifetimes, that are now used as a fuel. The only difference is the cycle time.
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There is CO2 in the atmosphere and that is necessary for life. However having too much is an issue.
There are 2 categories, based on where the CO2 comes from: Circular and non-circular CO2.
Burning wood produces circular CO2. It releases CO2 which it had previously been absorbed when that tree was growing. You can also grow a new tree that will absorb the same amount of CO2 just released. In the long run, the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere doesn’t change by burning trees. This is climate neutral.
Burning coal is not climate neutral as it will release CO2 in the atmosphere that was previously safely stored in the earth, causing the total amount of CO2 to rise. Burning coal/oil/gas/… is therefore CO2 positive and increasing the total amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Planting additional trees will not help reducing that additional amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. (It is CO2 neutral and the CO2 will be released again when the tree dies.)
In order to offset non-neutral CO2 from coal/oil/gas, we need CO2 negative technology that will capture CO2 from the atmosphere and safely store it elsewhere.
Also: If you would like to temporarily offset the CO2 from Coal/Oil/Gas, you would need to plant trees in the entirety of Africa and half of Australia and if you do, you just have created a severe water shortage.
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