China Green Carbon Foundation

Online Platform for Donations for Low Carbon Voluntary Tree-planting Established

On March 10th 2012, the thematic event of Afforesting the Motherland and Taking Low Carbon Action Day as well as Online Donation for Carbon Neutral Afforestation to Promote the Carbon Neutral Afforestation in Guangdong Province was jointly organized by China Green Carbon Foundation (CGCF) and the Forestry Department of Guangdong Province. It is intended to provide an online tree planting platform for the general public who can make their donations or buying green carbon from homes.

In a whole new way, the leaders from the State Forestry Administration and the Forestry Department of Guangdong Province took the lead in online green carbon foundation donation to perform the national voluntary tree-planting. It is reported that online donations for carbon neutral tree planting have been synchronously launched in 25 provinces (Autonomous Regions or Municipalities) in the same day. More than 10,000 people from the forestry institutions and enterprises of Guangdong Province enthusiastically took part in the event and donation of over RMB500,000 yuan of has been received which will be used in voluntary tree-planting in Wuhua County.

In creating a new way for performing citizens’ duty in voluntary tree-planting, CGCF initiated the Afforesting the Motherland and Taking Low Carbon Action Day in 2011 which advocates to the public the online donation or buying to fulfill their voluntary tree-planting duty or for carbon neutral tree-planting. CGCF has already established 30 carbons neutral afforestation bases across China for donations by the individual citizens through the easy and friendly-use of online platform. Online Platform for Donations for Carbon Neutral Tree Planting has been a popular approach in the world in appealing for carbon neutral afforestation. Donors who would like to do his/her part in combating climate change can choose the tree planting site and the number of trees to plant by the way of online donation or bank transfer or mail remittance 

ZHANG Yuwen, Director-General of Guangdong Province Forestry Department, expressed that the study of carbon sink transaction is under way in the Province and his department has been working with the Provincial Reform and Development Commission to formulate the methods and criteria for carbon forest accounting and to set up the Guangdong Carbon Sink Transaction Center. It is envisaged that RMB 6.65 billion yuan will be invested in carbon sink forest projects in the Province in the next 4 years, which will be used to extinguish the existing 5 million mu of barren mountains suitable for afforestation, to update 10 million mu of forests which are sparse and residual or pure-pine tree or irrational fast-growing forest in its drive to accelerate the ecological restoration and to increase the forests’ carbon sequestration.

(Author: LI, Ming Source: China Greentimes Published: March 15, 2012)