--- title: "Startup Says It’s Gene Hacked Trees to Suck Up More Climate-Destroying CO2" description: "Living Carbon has gone back to carbon capture's literal roots, but with a twist: they've created genetically-modified, fast-growing trees." date: "2022-07-19" modified: "2022-07-19" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-gene-hacked-trees-co2" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "gene hacking" - "the digest" - "trees" --- # Startup Says It’s Gene Hacked Trees to Suck Up More Climate-Destroying CO2 ![Living Carbon has gone back to carbon capture's literal roots, but with a twist: they've created genetically-modified, fast-growing trees.]() *\Image: Living Carbon\* ## Faster Stronger From [Iceland's giant carbon capture machine]() to [CO2 vodka](), scientists and innovators have been chasing [affordable carbon captur]()e technology — tech that's [able to soak up]() and reuse, or otherwise sequester, destructive carbon dioxide emissions — for years now. But plants have been doing that since long before humans were around, which is why San Francisco-based startup [Living Carbon]() has gone back to carbon capture's literal roots, with a comic book twist: genetically-modified, fast-growing supertrees, which the company is hoping to plant 4 million of by 2023, [*CNN Business* reports](). ## Supercharged Trees naturally consume CO2, which they need in order to grow. But as the Living Carbon founders explained to *CNN*, trees don't exactly grow quickly. Speeding up that process means speeding up natural carbon capture, which could enhance the effectiveness of reforestation efforts by a landslide. Excitingly, a [yet t0-to-be-peer-reviewed study]() published by the company earlier this year showed pretty significant successes. In the span of five months, one modified poplar grew about 53 percent more mass than its average un-modified counterpart — which, the company told *CNN*, is the equivalent of 27 percent more carbon being removed from the atmosphere per tree. ## Not Enough Company spokespeople told *CNN* that it plans to double its acreage of planted trees every year, meaning that by 2030 its trees will have removed an extra 604 million metric tons of carbon from the air. "About 75 percent of land worldwide has been degraded due to human activity," said co-founder Maddie Hall. "How do we develop species that would actually be able to capture carbon on those pieces of land? You need biotechnology to d0 that." But these trees, however promising, aren't quick fixes or final solutions. As *CNN* points out, there's a chance that they could actually become invasive, and regardless, humans still have to stop burning ungodly amounts of CO2-creating fossil fuels. Plus, the trees will eventually die, releasing carbon back into the soil in the process. That being said, we can safely say that as a general concept, trees are good. In the midst of [climate doom](), we're excited to see where this startup goes. **READ MORE:** [*This supercharged tree might help fight climate change*]() \[*CNN Business*\] **More on the climate crisis:** [*Uk Shuts down Air Force Base When It Got so Hot the Runway Melted*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()