Forest Authorities Help Country Reach Climate Goals

A man-made popular forest on the eastern shore of Yangtze River in Ma'anshan, Anhui province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Vigorous measures will be taken by China's forestry authorities, such as expanding grasslands and forests, to fulfill the country's climate commitment to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

In the next five years, forest coverage in China will hit 24.1 percent and the country's forest stock volume will reach 19 billion cubic meters, an official from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said at a news conference on Friday.

Moreover, the country's grassland vegetation coverage will hit 57 percent by 2025, said Zhang Wei, director of the administration's environment protection and restoration department.

"Also, we will further promote the mass land greening project in the country and encourage people nationwide to plant more trees," he said.

China currently has 220 million hectares of forest with total forest stock volume of 17.5 billion cubic meters, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

Forest stock volume－the total volume of the stems of all living trees－is often used for forest resource management and planning and as a predictor of carbon-related variables and carbon stocks, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Every additional 100 million cubic meters of forest stock volume can absorb 183 million tons of carbon dioxide.

"China will build a conservation system on its nature reserves, protecting various natural resources and maintain a strong attitude toward illegal activities that will harm nature," Zhang said.

He also revealed that a carbon sink database will be built and regular surveillance on carbon sinks related to the forest and grassland will be conducted.

"Moreover, we will promote carbon sink trading in the future and aim to build a trading platform, encouraging the participation of capital from non-government sectors, including enterprises and social organizations," Zhang said.

In March, the administration released a report showing that forest carbon storage in China was about 9.18 billion metric tons last year, which achieved the country's commitment to the international community.

China has made important contributions to adopting the Paris Agreement and has made active efforts toward implementing it.

In September, President Xi Jinping announced that the country's goal to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

At the Climate Ambition Summit in December, Xi announced that China will lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by more than 65 percent from the 2005 level and increase the forest stock volume by 6 billion cubic meters from the 2005 level.

"China has promoted our own approach to climate governance that highlights green recovery. The forestry department at all levels will play to our advantage and strengthen our green industries, further contributing to our commitment to climate change," said Li Chunliang, deputy director of the administration.