China pledges to go greener by planting forests the size of Belgium over the next five years

December 29th, 2021

Awake Goy

China has just launched a new green campaign claiming it will plant forests the size of Belgium over the course of the next five years.

This plan is part of the nation’s goal to combat the climate crisis and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

In addition, they will also expand the country’s national park and forest system, which will include creating new green corridors in order to “reconnect” China’s fragmented population of wildlife, while also putting stronger laws against illegal wildlife trafficking and the use of wildlife products into place, reports True Activist.

Even though China’s air pollution has decreased, it is still an issue that needs to be a priority for the country and this is a great step in the right direction. According to Smart Air, all of China’s major cities are still above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual PM2.5 limit of 10 μg/m3. The average – 39µg/m3 – is still nearly 4 times the safe limit.

“By 2035, the quality and stability of national forest, grassland, wetland, and desert ecosystems will have been comprehensively upgraded,” says Vice-chairman of the State Forestry and Grasslands Commission in China, Li Chunliang.

Amazingly, five of these Belgium forests will increase total forest coverage in the country by less than 2%, but in a culture like China, which for decades has existed in the paradox of matching traditions like Buddhism, folk medicine, and a deep reverence for national animals with breakneck economic development and conquering of the natural world, every little bit counts, writes Good News Network.