China and India have their work cut out when it comes to increasing their forest cover. Both of them have to decarbonize fast, and increasing forest cover is one vital piece in the decarbonising puzzle for both countries.
China, at least for now, appears to have taken a lead in this. The country's forest cover and forest stock volume have been growing in the last 30 years, and China accounts for more than 25% of the world’s new green areas.
More important, China aims to plant and conserve 70 billion trees (about 2.3% of the current stock of global trees) within 10 years to green our planet, combat climate change, and increase forest carbon sink. 2% might not sound like a lot, but note that it is 2% of the cumulative stock of all the trees available. I think it is an impressive, substantial number.
