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Planting 2.6 billion trees to bear green fruit
By Huang Xin, Wang Yaguang and Gao Tian |
September 30, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ON the Loess Plateau in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, forests and grass planted in the past decade have turned the bare sandy terrain green - the result of a national campaign to return cropland to forest and grass.
The campaign that began in the late 1990s prohibits commercial logging in natural forests along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, China's two longest waterways, and reduces felling in northeast China and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The project has protected forests on 104 million hectares, and added 15.27 million hectares of new forests. The Chinese government has planted 2.6 billion trees, bringing the total on the planet to 7.3 billion, according to a report by United Nations Environment Program, which was released on September 21.
Addressing the United Nations climate change summit on September 22, Chinese President Hu Jintao unveiled the government's climate targets and plans, including a promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by "a notable margin" by 2020 from the 2005 level.
Yu Jie, an official in charge of the Climate Group's Policy and Research, said it was the first time a Chinese leader had revealed the country's target at an international conference, and it could be interpreted as a commitment even though no actual figure was disclosed.
Hu said China would strive to develop renewable energy and nuclear energy, and increase the proportion of non-fossil fuels in energy consumption to about 15 percent by 2020, which was at about nine percent at the end of 2008.
He also said China would increase forest coverage by 40 million hectares by 2020 to absorb carbon dioxide.
China published its National Climate Change Program in June 2007, pledging to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP, and to increase the proportion of renewable energy in total energy consumption to 10 percent by 2010 compared with 7.5 percent in 2005.
This would cut 1.5 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and save 620 million tons of standard coal.
In 2005 China aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 20 percent during its 11th five-year-plan. By the end of 2008 CO2 emissions per unit of GDP had decreased by 10 percent, with sulphur dioxide down by nine percent and chemical oxygen demand down by 6.6 percent.
Yu said that the goal of 20-percent emissions decrease could "both ensure China's energy security and help combat the challenge of climate change."
Green investment such as public transport and energy-saving and emission-reduction projects accounted for 30 percent of the government's 4-trillion-yuan (US$586 billion) economic stimulus plan.
The State Council said in its 2009 energy-saving and emissions-reducing plan that China would save 75 million tons of standard coal in the year and support the establishment of new energy vehicle pilot units in 13 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing.
(The authors are senior writers at Xinhua news agency.)
The campaign that began in the late 1990s prohibits commercial logging in natural forests along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, China's two longest waterways, and reduces felling in northeast China and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The project has protected forests on 104 million hectares, and added 15.27 million hectares of new forests. The Chinese government has planted 2.6 billion trees, bringing the total on the planet to 7.3 billion, according to a report by United Nations Environment Program, which was released on September 21.
Addressing the United Nations climate change summit on September 22, Chinese President Hu Jintao unveiled the government's climate targets and plans, including a promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by "a notable margin" by 2020 from the 2005 level.
Yu Jie, an official in charge of the Climate Group's Policy and Research, said it was the first time a Chinese leader had revealed the country's target at an international conference, and it could be interpreted as a commitment even though no actual figure was disclosed.
Hu said China would strive to develop renewable energy and nuclear energy, and increase the proportion of non-fossil fuels in energy consumption to about 15 percent by 2020, which was at about nine percent at the end of 2008.
He also said China would increase forest coverage by 40 million hectares by 2020 to absorb carbon dioxide.
China published its National Climate Change Program in June 2007, pledging to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP, and to increase the proportion of renewable energy in total energy consumption to 10 percent by 2010 compared with 7.5 percent in 2005.
This would cut 1.5 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and save 620 million tons of standard coal.
In 2005 China aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 20 percent during its 11th five-year-plan. By the end of 2008 CO2 emissions per unit of GDP had decreased by 10 percent, with sulphur dioxide down by nine percent and chemical oxygen demand down by 6.6 percent.
Yu said that the goal of 20-percent emissions decrease could "both ensure China's energy security and help combat the challenge of climate change."
Green investment such as public transport and energy-saving and emission-reduction projects accounted for 30 percent of the government's 4-trillion-yuan (US$586 billion) economic stimulus plan.
The State Council said in its 2009 energy-saving and emissions-reducing plan that China would save 75 million tons of standard coal in the year and support the establishment of new energy vehicle pilot units in 13 cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing.
(The authors are senior writers at Xinhua news agency.)
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