China's 2025 National Energy Efficiency Promotion Week (June 23 to 29) and the National Low-Carbon Day (June 25) highlight the country's commitment to energy efficiency and low-emission development.

At the heart of China's low-carbon strategy lie natural ecosystems – forests, grasslands and wetlands – that act as vast carbon banks.

In 2022, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration launched 18 pilot cities and counties for forestry carbon sinks, alongside 21 state-owned forest carbon-sink demonstration sites, forging pathways for high-quality carbon-sink development.

A 2024 survey shows that China's forests and grasslands absorb over 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, ranking highest in the world.

Complementing nature's capture power, mega-projects like the west-to-east power transmission help shift energy from renewables-rich regions to demand centers, boosting overall energy efficiency while cutting emissions.

This photo feature profiles China's demonstration practices and innovative mechanisms for ecological carbon sinks, showing how policy-driven carbon-sink assessment and trading are forging deep integration between ecosystem protection and low-carbon growth.

(Cover: Wind turbines and the coastal shelterbelt forest in Weihai City, Shandong Province, east China, August 7, 2024. /VCG)