> I don't see what difference it makes if the biomass is six months old or millions of years.
The coal in the ground isn't a snapshot of a single point in time in the past. It represents a succession of trees. Some were buried in the ground, and others grew above them. More were buried, and more grew above. Many layers were deposited over millions of years. The totality of coal below ground represents a lot more trees than could ever grow at once on the surface. Burning fossil coal puts CO2 into the atmosphere that cannot be offset in any meaningful way by planting trees. Not on a time horizon shorter than millions or at least thousands of years.
We would have to grow trees, then cut them down, and sequester them below ground again in a way that keeps the carbon from escaping. Almost like, you know... coal.
The difference then is that fossil fuel + tree planting increases the total amount of carbon above ground. But in the short term there isn't a difference in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Fossil fuel + tree planting is not a long term solution, but neither is wood burning. And I don't think wood burning should get a free pass just because somewhere a tree is growing. Ideally a carbon tax would apply.
> But in the short term there isn't a difference in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Sure. In the short term almost nothing humans do can make a difference at Earth scale. It's a very big planet. But we have been burning huge amounts of fossil fuels for centuries now, which has got us into trouble.
> And I don't think wood burning should get a free pass just because somewhere a tree is growing. Ideally a carbon tax would apply.
The coal in the ground isn't a snapshot of a single point in time in the past. It represents a succession of trees. Some were buried in the ground, and others grew above them. More were buried, and more grew above. Many layers were deposited over millions of years. The totality of coal below ground represents a lot more trees than could ever grow at once on the surface. Burning fossil coal puts CO2 into the atmosphere that cannot be offset in any meaningful way by planting trees. Not on a time horizon shorter than millions or at least thousands of years.
We would have to grow trees, then cut them down, and sequester them below ground again in a way that keeps the carbon from escaping. Almost like, you know... coal.