More updates from not-for-profit climate action search engine Ecosia: It's given itself its first major branding refresh since launch back in 2009 at the same time as announcing a shift from 3-year to 20-year contracts for its tree planting projects -- idea being to ensure that the trees planted with profits from its search ads are "intergenerational" and can survive for the long haul.

Also today, the search engine said it's grown global usage to 20 million monthly active users -- up from 15M between mid 2019 and 2021 -- and is now serving half a billion searches each month. Usage of the search engine is highest in Germany, France, the U.K. and the U.S -- and Ecosia tells us it's looking to capitalize on the opportunities presented by a growing audience of climate aware, and often young, users.

Tree planting is a popular measure for combating CO2 emissions but the notion that humanity can simply plant its way out of the climate crisis has attracted a fair amount of scepticism. Poorly conceived tree planting projects have also been shown doing more harm than good as they can damage existing ecosystems and even reduce biodiversity. And, certainly, for reforestation projects to be credible rather than greenwashing there's a lot more that needs to happen than just digging a few holes in the ground and sticking saplings in them. So Ecosia's brand refresh looks like an attempt to not only brush up a rather dated look but also underscore that it's very much not one of the tokenistic greenwashers.

Its search ad profits have funded the planting of some 150 million trees to date -- and it touts high survival rates, noting its approach involves co-designing projects with local partners; use of local tree species (its portfolio consists of 900+ different species which includes 30+ on the endangered species list); and the monitoring of trees for a minimum of three years using satellite technology, geo-tagging, photographic evidence and field visits, to track survival.