In 1561, King Philip Ⅱ of Spain made the decision to move the capital to Madrid, which had a significant impact on the city’s environment that is still felt today. Some suggest that the move was motivated by a desire for a healthier environment for his wife, as well as Madrid’s closeness to the Manzanares River. However, the removal of the surrounding woodlands to support the royal court exposed the city to severe weather, leading to the saying “nine months of winter and three of hell”.

Today, Madrid continues to struggle with environmental problems, such as pollution from a large number of vehicles that enter the city each day. To battle with this issue, Madrid’s city planners are constructing a 75-kilometer-long Metropolitan Forest, which is one of the most ambitious initiatives of its kind in Europe. This forest will consist of 1.5 million trees of species native to Madrid, along with eco-friendly bridges and recreational centers. Additionally, a 23-kilometer-long Forest Avenue for cyclists and pedestrians will connect the new forest with existing parks, schools, offices, and the airport. In 20 years, the Metropolitan Forest should be able to remove more than 800,000 tonnes of CO from the city’s atmosphere.

The idea for the forest was born in 2019 when Madrid councilors for urban development asked the children what kind of Madrid they would like to see in 2040. The dominating response was a “green city”, which motivated the city council to plan seriously. The city council has been aware of Madrid’s environmental problems since the 1990s, but it wasn’t until 2019, when a survey revealed that over 40 percent of the citizens cited the environment as the city’s number one   problem that they decided to take action.

The Metropolitan Forest project represents a significant investment in Madrid’s future, demonstrating how a willingness to listen to the next generation’s ideas and the public’s concerns can lead to positive change.

The Amazon rainforest is nearing a tipping point, according to researchers from the University of Exeter, UK.

Previous studies have warned that the world’s largest rainforest, which acts as the lung of the Earth, is approaching a critical threshold. But most past research has depended on projections using models, not real-world observations.

Now, Tim Lenton and his colleagues have used two sets of satellite data covering between 1996 and 2016 to measure the greenness of the Amazon over time, watching for how it recovered after impacts such as drought and fires.

They found that since the early 2000s, 76 percent of the region had become less resilient. Importantly, says Lenton, the signal of this growing trouble was picked up without immediately obvious changes such as huge drops in the forest’s biomass or tree cover.

“Why do we care about it? It’s worth reminding ourselves that if it gets to that tipping point and we lose the Amazon rainforest then we get a significant feedback to global climate change,” says Lenton. He says a change into savannah would unlock about 90 billion tons of carbon dioxide stored in the trees and soil.

Lenton says he cannot put an exact date on how far off the rainforest's tipping point might be, but he expects it to be a process that would take in a few years. Other Amazon experts say the research adds to a growing body of evidence that the rainforest is approaching a tipping point.

The changes aren't the same throughout the rainforest. The south-eastern part of the Amazon has already changed to the point at which it is now a carbon emitter rather than a carbon sink.

Matt Finer at the Amazon Conservation non-profit organization says the research could help decide which remaining parts of the forest to prioritize for protection. “The western and north-east Amazon appear the most resilient, showing the need to protect these areas now and in the future from any more damages,” he says.

In 2018, Pakistan promised to plant ten billion trees in an effort to slow climate change and to save a land that has been destroyed.

That program, whose name is 10 Billion Trees Tsunami, has been taking effect slowly for the past two years, but it recently has received unexpected help from the coronavirus(新冠病毒). Many Pakistanis are suddenly unemployed, so the government has given them jobs as tree-planters. Unemployed day laborers have been turned into "jungle workers", planting trees for 500 rupees a day($3). It's not much, but it can help the unemployed get by.

As the coronavirus struck Pakistan, the 10 Billion Trees campaign was halted as part of social distancing orders put in place to slow the spread of the virus. But earlier this month, the government allowed the forestry agency to restart the program and create more than 63, 600 jobs.

The program is employing three times the number of planters as it normally does, and the planting season has been extended from May(its usual end)throughout June, in order to keep workers employed. All workers are being told to wear masks and keep two meters of distance from others.

Shahid Rashid Awan, project director for Punjab province, said the project hopes to reach 50 million trees this year. “We can absorb all the unemployed laborers and workers who have fled the cities and returned to their villages in the past few weeks.”

A study declared tree planting to be an effective way to store carbon, and if planted in large quantities around the globe, a powerful solution to climate change. While it won’t fix every climate-related problem we have, it can go a long way if done widely, which is exactly what Pakistan is trying to do with such impressive determination.

And the workers will benefit greatly, too. Not only are they able to earn money and support their families at a difficult time, but they’re outside in the fresh air, away from the potential health risks from more tightly-packed urban environments. It’s a brilliant idea that all country leaders should consider copying.