U.N. Plants 1 Billion Trees

A jungle tree in Indonesia, a North African Cypress, even a eucalyptus in Ethiopia, stand tall as living proof of initiative and accomplishment in the world’s poorest countries. In the past year, the international community has joined together to plant one billion trees in response to a call to action from the United Nations.

The U.N. announced the success of its Billion Tree Campaign Wednesday, days before climate change talks are set to begin in Indonesia, reported Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Indonesia, with most of the world's tropical rainforests, will host the landmark global conference from Dec. 3 to 15. The meeting will assign environmental accountability within developed and developing nations. With a post-Kyoto emissions reduction plan looming for 2012, the UN aims to enable all participating countries to slash carbon emission based on respective economic capabilities.

More than a counter to deforestation and the offset of greenhouse gases, the U.N.’s Billion Tree Campaign sends an inspiring message of ingenuity to the world’s wealthiest global leaders. Environmentalists can only hope that in a bout of healthy environmental competition, leading delegates will set lofty goals for their respective nations.

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