TO combat climate change and protect natural habitats, China is planning to plant 36,000 square kilometres of new forest every year till 2025 a senior forestry official said on Friday (20).
The announcement is a part of China’s environmental efforts to bring carbon emissions down to net zero by 2060.
Li Chunliang, vice-chairman of the State Forestry and Grasslands Commission, said large-scale "land greening" programmes would complete 54 million mu (36,000 sq km) of afforestation every year through 2025.
"By 2035, the quality and stability of national forest, grassland, wetland and desert ecosystems will have been comprehensively upgraded," Li added.
According to China’s forest and grassland five-year plan published earlier this week, it aims to raise its overall forest coverage rate to 24.1 per cent by the end of 2025 from 23.04 per cent at the end of last year,
The plan highlighted that the country’s forest and grass resources were inadequate, especially in drought-prone regions in the north and west.
Under the five-year plan, China will also expand its national park system, create corridors to alleviate habitat fragmentation, and crack down further on illegal wildlife trade.
Separately market research group comparethemarket.com said on Friday (20) that the city of Beijing alone would need to plant more than 15 million trees a year in order to offset annual emissions.
Pedestrians walk past a poster featuring US President Donald Trump outside the American Center in New Delhi on May 21, 2026 marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP via Getty Images)
FILE PHOTO: US secretary of state Marco Rubio (R) meets with Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the State Department in Washington, DC, on February 3, 2026. (Photo by Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
