(File photo)

Hangzhou pledged on Aug. 22 to host an effectively carbon emissions-free G20 summit. This will be done by growing a forest covering over 334 mu, or 220,000 square meters.

The host city will plant the trees in March and April of 2017 in Taihuyuan Township, where Taihu Lake originates. The forest will help to absorb and consolidate carbon dioxide at an annual rate of 1 ton of carbon dioxide equivalence per mu, or about .16 acres. It is expected that the forest will be able to counteract all the carbon dioxide emitted during the G20 summit within 20 years, news site zjol.com.cn reported.

According to China Green Carbon Foundation (CGCF), it is estimated that carbon emissions during the G20 summit will total 6,674 tons, coming from activities such as transportation and food and beverage catering.

Launched on Monday by CGCF, the city government of Hangzhou and the forestry department of Zhejiang province, the carbon-free plan has received a total donation of 1.5 million yuan from a civil foundation and a local company. The plan would make the G20 summit in Hangzhou the first low-emissions summit in G20 history. It would also be the third global conference in China vowing zero emissions through tree-planting.

The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Tianjin and the 2014 APEC Summit in Beijing were also planned to be effectively carbon neutral, according to zjol.com.cn.