A CARDIGAN environmentalist spearheading plans to plant a global forest cheekily dedicated to US President Donald Trump says he is “overwhelmed” by worldwide support for the campaign.

The Trump Forest crowdfunding campaign aims to eventually plant 10 billion trees across the planet to offset what New Zealand-based Dr Daniel Price and his fellow founders have dubbed ‘Donald Trump’s climate ignorance’.

Dr Price, a climate scientist and glaciologist who moved to Christchurch because it offered easier access to Antarctica, launched the project with fellow environmentalists Adrien Taylor and Jeff Williams in March, a day after President Trump signed his “energy independence” executive order – a sweeping reversal of clean energy initiatives introduced under the Barack Obama administration.

The campaign team – who insist their scheme is apolitical – says the US Clean Power Plan could have prevented around 650 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere over the next eight years.

The goal is for Trump Forest to grow so large that it can offset additional carbon released into the atmosphere as a result of President Trump scrapping legislation to combat global warming.

To hit that target, Dr Price said over 10 billion trees, covering an area roughly the size of Kentucky, would need to be donated.

Aside from planting trees, Dr Price said he hoped individuals involved in the project would gain a greater understanding about climate change.

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