SUMMARY

Voluntary tree planting to support new forests will be funded by CNPC staff contributions in a new NGO partnership.

By Callum Cyrus

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said March 10 it had launched a joint initiative with NGO China Green Foundation to plant trees and start forests using online donations from the public and CNPC's staff.

CNPC's "Planting Trees for Carbon Neutrality" campaign could foster 2.7mn mof newly-planted forests in China, a natural absorbent of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Voluntary tree planting together with new carbon sinks and carbon-neutral forests will help CNPC play a "better leading role" in addressing climate change, the company said, bringing it closer to its carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

In just three years time, CNPC expects carbon emissions to have peaked and says it will achieve carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions by 2050. It is pushing natural gas as a "green and low-carbon" energy sources, with its share in the company's production mix set to reach around 55% by 2025.

Gas will play an "essential role" in CNPC's energy mix in the short term offering an anchor for "abundant" Chinese wind, solar and geothermal resources. However by 2060 Beijing aims to source 80% of its energy from non-fossil fuel sources, marking a fundamental shift away from its coal and gas-dominated energy networks, S&P Global reported last October.