A village in Guangdong has turned the concept of "selling air" into a real financial gain, earning over 730,000 yuan for its collective. This was achieved through a forestry carbon credit project.
In a transaction on the Guangzhou Carbon Emissions Exchange, the Gongkeng Village in Waxi Town, Zijin County, Heyuan City, sold 18,186 tonnes of certified emission reductions at a price of 40.51 yuan per tonne. This transaction directly converted the ecological value of the local forests into cash, generating a total ecological income of 736,700 yuan for the village collective.
This project is the first of its kind to be registered and implemented in Guangdong under the 2025 edition of the "Guangdong Province Forestry Carbon Sequestration Carbon Inclusion Methodology." It marks a significant milestone in the collaborative efforts between Shenzhen, through its paired assistance program with Heyuan, and the specific cooperation between Longhua District and Zijin County to advance dual-carbon industry strategies.
The entire 736,700 yuan in revenue will be reinvested into forest management, the development of under-forest economies, and the construction of village-level public facilities, ensuring that the villagers are the direct beneficiaries of ecological protection. This practice, commonly known as "selling air," involves using methods such as afforestation to generate surplus carbon emission credits, which are then sold on a carbon emissions trading platform to entities or individuals in need, thereby generating income.
In recent years, with the support of the Longhua District's paired assistance and cooperation command office in Zijin County, the county has actively pursued forestry carbon sink pilot projects. Pilots for Shenzhen, Guangdong, and national-level carbon trading have been implemented in Xialai Village (Waxi Town), Longteng Village (Yirong Town), and the entire town of Jiuhe, respectively. Carbon sink pilot work is also being carried out simultaneously in 22 typical villages designated by the provincial "Hundreds of Millions of Projects" initiative.
Prior to this major transaction, a Shenzhen-based company completed a carbon inclusion trade with Xialai Village in Waxi Town, generating 100,000 yuan in economic income for the village. This made Xialai Village the first demonstration village for carbon inclusion trading between Longhua and Zijin.
Located in the ecological development zone of northern Guangdong, Zijin County boasts a forested area of 3.9176 million mu, including 1.808 million mu of natural forests and 2.0109 million mu of ecological public welfare forests. The county's forest coverage rate stands at 76.71%, with a total forest stock volume of 16.7611 million cubic meters. Gongkeng Village, with its abundant mountain forest resources, is naturally suited for developing forestry carbon sinks.
To monetize these forest resources, the Shenzhen-Heyuan Paired Assistance Command, along with the Shenzhen assistance team stationed in Zijin County, took the lead in coordinating with the county's environmental protection, forestry, and agricultural departments. They established a service system characterized by "assistance-led, ecological coordination, forestry rights confirmation, and agricultural linkage." This system has successfully transformed the previously dormant mountain forests into standardized carbon assets, enabling their smooth monetization.