China is About to Build Vertical Forest to Combat City Smog

February 8, 2017   |   James Holbrooks

(ANTIMEDIA) Nanjing, China — With much of the developed world looking to China to take the lead on the highly controversial issue of climate change, it was reported this week that the global power will construct two ‘vertical forest’ towers in the major city of Nanjing in an effort to combat greenhouse gas emissions.

The towers, to be completed by 2018, will be the first of their kind in Asia and will be constructed under the guidance of Stefano Boeri, the architect behind similar forest skyscrapers in Italy and Switzerland.

On his website, Boeri describes the concept behind vertical forests:

“Vertical Forest is a model for sustainable residential building, a project for metropolitan reforestation contributing to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding upon the territory.”

Combined, the two structures — the outer facades of which will be studded from top to bottom with thousands of trees, plants, and shrubberies — are predicted to produce around 60 kg of oxygen per day and absorb about 25 tons of CO2 a year.

Reporting on the news, the Daily Mail described the amenities the project will provide:

“The taller tower, 600 feet high, crowned on the top by a green lantern, will host offices — from the 8th floor to the 35th — and it will include a museum, a green architecture school and a private club on the rooftop.

“The second tower, 355 feet high, will provide a Hyatt hotel with 247 rooms and a swimming pool on the rooftop.”

Boeri hopes the Nanjing project will lead to others in China, including a luxury hotel in Guizhou, which will be set among 400 acres of rolling hills and will feature a bar, gym, lounge, VIP area, conference room and restaurant.

China — a nation well-known for its pollution problems — is, of late, being looked to for leadership on the climate change issue. Newly-elected President Donald Trump, who has dismissed climate change as a hoax, has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, a United Nations pact signed by nearly 200 countries that aims to tackle environmental concerns such as greenhouse gasses.

Whether or not China will step into this role is yet to be determined, but some analysts believe China’s president, Xi Jinping has recently expressed a willingness. “There is only one Earth in the universe and we mankind have only one homeland,” he said while speaking before a United Nations assembly in Geneva. The leader added:

“The Paris agreement is a milestone in the history of climate governance. We must ensure this endeavor is not derailed.”

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China’s Agenda 21 Sparks ‘Vertical Forests’ – Skyscrapers With 3,000 Trees & Shrubs

NANJING, China — China’s plan to move 250 million people from the country to the city in the next decade has resulted in some strange developments, including ghost cities and now, “vertical forests.”

The first vertical forest will be built in Nanjing, a city of more than 8 million people, and include 1,100 trees and 2,500 plants and shrubs hanging off a pair of tall skyscrapers. It was designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti and promoted by the government-owned National Investment Group.

According to Stefano Boeri, the vertical forest will absorb 25 tons of carbon dioxide and produce more than 20 tons of oxygen each year. Stefano Boeri even has plans for a yet-to-be-built “Forest City” that will boast dozens of the vertical forests and house about 100,000 residents.

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The Nanjing vertical forest is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

The tallest tower will be more than 600 feet high and will host offices, a museum, a green architecture school and a private club on the rooftop, according to Stefano Boeri. The second tower, at 354 feet high, will include a Hyatt hotel. The facilities also will have restaurants and a grocery store.

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In 2014 China officials unveiled their National New-type Urbanization Plan (2014-2020) with the goal of moving 100 million people from the rural and farming areas to the city by 2020 and 250 million by 2026.

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“It’s a new world for us in the city,” 43-year-old Tian Wei, a former wheat farmer who now works in a city factory, told The New York Times. “All my life I’ve worked with my hands in the fields; do I have the educational level to keep up with the city people?”

Some have labeled it China’s Agenda 21 – a reference to a United Nations “sustainable development” plan that was adopted by China, the United States and other nations in the 1990s. Critics of Agenda 21 — and the subsequent Agenda 2030 – argue that if the plans are carried out, the U.S. and other countries eventually will force people into cities, even if it doesn’t look as dramatic as it does in China.

(Listen to Off The Grid News’ in-depth report on Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030 here.)

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The yet-to-be-built “Forest City.”

China’s goal is to transform the country into one that is more competitive on the world stage. Currently, around 55 percent of Chinese residents live in cities, compared to 80 percent of Americans who live in urban areas.

The concept has resulted in hundreds of “ghost cities” across China – that is, cities with streets and skyscrapers, but no people. Eventually, they will be occupied.

What is your reaction to China’s vertical forests and population plan? Do you think it could happen here? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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