India planted millions of trees in less than 12-hours as part of their commitment to the Paris Agreement and having 5-million hectares of new forest by 2030.
Many countries committed to the Paris Agreement including South Africa. Sadly Donald Trump destroyed all the hard work done during the Obama administration and pulled out of the Paris Agreement in 2017. Moved into action by Donald Trump’s choice to withdraw from the agreement, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi decided to start the massive task of planting the new trees.
The state of Madhya Pradesh held a day of sapling planting back in July 2017 to kick off their commitment to planting 5-million hectares of new trees in India. India is currently the third largest generator of carbon emissions in the world. Having more tree will greatly combat it.
About 1.5 million people were involved in the huge plantation campaign, in which saplings were placed along the Narmada river in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Just over 66 million trees were planted in 12-hours.
“By planting trees we are not only serving Madhya Pradesh but the world at large.” – Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the state’s chief minister
“The Paris Agreement provides an opportunity for countries to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It entered into force on 4 November 2016.”
South Africa has also signed the agreement and confirmed the historic moment was of great importance.
“The adoption of the Paris Agreement has been hailed as a turning point in the efforts of the international community to address climate change,” – The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Dr Edna Molewa
“We need to adjust our ecological, social, and economic systems and change the way of doing business, so that we can transition to a lower carbon and climate resilient society, in a manner that also grows our economy, creates employment and eradicates poverty,”
What do you think SA could be doing to help halt the rise in temperatures?
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