Planting more and more trees is often seen as an ideal way to fight climate change. But a new study warns that trees can't do as much to fix the climate as many people believe. Experts say that relying too much on just afforestation is taking away our attention from what really matters the most: cutting down on burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

The research published in the journal Science looked at two things: planting new forests and bringing back old forests that were cut down. The scientists were careful about which lands are actually good places to plant trees. They avoided areas where planting trees might cause problems. For example, planting trees in snowy places can make warming worse as trees absorb more sunlight instead of reflecting it back into space. The study found only 389 million hectares worldwide suitable for planting trees.