By The Financial District
Nov 24, 20211 min
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced ambitious plans to plant one billion trees across the country in the next three years, according to a Euronews report.
Photo Insert: The announcement came days after COP26 climate negotiations.
The announcement came just days after climate negotiations ended at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
Along with the 27-nation European Union, Ukraine hopes to plant around three billion trees over the next decade to restore the "lungs of the planet".
Trees naturally absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels, like oil and coal. Scientists say forests act as huge carbon sinks, draining heat-trapping CO2.
There are also plans to build more than ten modern breeding and seed centres in the next three years in Ukraine. In the country's northern Zhytomyr region, workers are putting small tree seedlings into the ground in an attempt to counteract the effects of climate change.
"[The whole of] Europe declared plans to plant three billion trees in ten years, but our plan is planting one billion in three years," said Yuriy Bolokhovets, head of the state forest agency.