China has afforested land of over one million mu (66,000 hectares) with money from the China Green Carbon Fund, said a forest administration official Thursday.

The fund was established in July 2007 by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) and the China Green Foundation, as a countermeasure to address Climate change through afforestation.

Li Nuyun, deputy director of the Afforestation Department of SFA, said "One way to tackle climate change is to reduce emission of green house gases, and the other is to increase forestry coverage, sometimes the latter one is more effective."

Forests absorb carbon dioxide, the major contributor to global warming, and release oxygen.

Through donating money to the fund, companies and individuals could erase their carbon footprints and deposit carbon credits.

Li Nuyun said so far the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) was the largest donator, with a donation of 300 million yuan (US$43.9 million).

"Besides, there are over one thousand citizens who donated money to the fund," said Li Nuyun.

She said, "In Beijing, every 1000 yuan (US$146.4) they donated for planting trees could help absorb 5.6 to 8.6 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent."

Li talked about the China Green Carbon Fund at the Fifth China International Forum on Environment and Development.

The forum was co-hosted Thursday by Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and organized by All China Environment Federation.

The forum has been successfully conducted for four years with the aim of creating a platform for international organizations, Chinese government agencies, private sectors and NGOs to discuss issues related to environmental protection.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2009)