23The Carbon Capture Tree
An empress can grow 10 to 20 feet tall in its first year, which helps it
store carbon more efficiently than other tree speciesWorld Tree relies on farmers around the world to plant the treesEach acre of empress
trees is equivalent to
about 80 passenger
vehicles being
taken off the road for
a yearPHOTOGRAPHS BY CHUCK HEMARD FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKTo help battle global warming, companies around the world are expected to spend billions of dollars over the next
decade building devices aimed at sucking carbon from the atmosphere. The thing is, Mother Nature already made
one. While each acre of most tree species can capture and store 1.1 to 9.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, an
acre of empress trees can absorb 103. “The tree has a veryJack and the Beanstalkenergy to it,” says Wendy Burton,
whose 15-year-old Mesa, Ariz.-based timber company, World Tree, has planted more than 1,000 acres of empress.
Once the trees reach maturity, farmers harvest their wood for use in houses or musical instruments. World Tree
investors share in the profits. The trees can regrow easily from the stumps after they’ve been harvested. Says Cathy
Key, the company’s chief operating officer: “It’s a tree that grows like grass.” �Emily Chasan