October 29, 2025
Throwing shade at new shade
China has added forest the size of Texas since 1990
China’s Texas-sized forest has commenters cheering and side-eyeing
TLDR: China added about 170 million acres of forest since 1990 while global deforestation marches on. Commenters split between good-news cheers and sharp skepticism, citing European hypocrisy, CO2/urbanization claims, and whether these are biodiverse forests or planted belts — turning tree growth into a full-on debate worth watching.
The U.N. says China has added a forest roughly the size of Texas since 1990 — about 173 million acres — thanks to massive tree-planting belts around deserts like the Taklamakan and work continuing near the Gobi. Russia (+52M acres, Kansas-sized), India (+22M), and Canada (+20M) are greening up too, even as the world still loses ~20M acres of forest each year, mostly in the tropics (U.N. report; see Yale E360). The comments? Absolute forest fire.
One camp pops champagne: “finally some good news,” says yesbut, while others nerd out on supply chains — maerF0x0 wonders if China’s tree surge ties to less demand for softwood and past imports of recycled paper. Then the hypocrisy siren blares: renewiltord argues Europe bulldozed its forests to get rich, now scolds others for doing the same. India gets dragged into the chat with a hot take: aiauthoritydev claims higher carbon dioxide helps trees grow, and urbanization means fewer chainsaws — cue debates over whether these gains are real forests or just tree farms. Meanwhile, Freedom2 drops a road-trip meme: “Can you drive all day and still be in the forest?” Between optimism, eye-rolls, and jokes, the vibe is clear: this is big news with bigger questions about quality, biodiversity, and whether new shade can offset tropical losses.
Key Points
- •China has added about 173 million acres of forest since 1990—roughly the size of Texas—per a United Nations report.
- •Global forests have been shrinking by around 20 million acres annually in recent years, missing the goal to end deforestation by 2030.
- •Primary drivers of deforestation are agricultural land clearing, with increasing impacts from fires and drought linked to warming.
- •Wealthier regions including the U.S., Canada, Russia, and much of Europe show net forest regrowth; India and China also have net gains.
- •Since 1990: Canada +20M acres, India +22M, Russia +52M (~Kansas), and China planted ~120M acres; China completed a 2,000-mile tree belt around the Taklamakan and continues work around the Gobi.