As the world continues to wrestle with threats posed by global climate change, a team of German scientists has developed a novel solution: plant millions of acres of the carbon-sucking shrub jatropha in hot, arid regions.

 

The weedy, woody bush with poisonous seeds is a CO2 magnet capable of capturing 25 metric tons of the gas per hectare annually over a 20-year period, or roughly the time it takes for the plants to fully mature.

 

The jatropha plant grows naturally in environments too arid for typical food crops, so widespread cultivation is unlikely to disrupt the global food supply.

 

While jatropha crops would require some irrigation, at least initially, a recent study suggests that a 10,000 km2 plantation could reduce the surface temperature enough to change the regional climate and lead to an increase in dew fall or precipitation.

However, the plantations will be demanding or costly.

 

But scientists estimate that jatropha plantations around the world could one day remove 25 billion metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, or roughly the same amount as is annually produced by China, the U.S., and the E.U. combined, making their cultivation a win-win for business and the environment.