Serbian music festival EXIT has convinced the government to plant 1 billion trees to combat the climate crisis.
A green initiative launched by the award-winning music festival has been adopted by the Serbian government after a public call for mass reforestation throughout the country. Entitled Green Я:Evolution the initiative plans to increase Serbia’s forest cover by nearly 50%.
CEO and founder of EXIT, Dušan Kovačević, tells Euronews Living, “we hope to see the universities and high schools, army and police personnel, all joining the thousands of volunteers” in planting billions of trees over the years to come.
“However, our true aim is a global one – we want to do our part in building a worldwide coalition that will bring Earth forestation from 30 to 40% of the total planet land surface,” he says. “This could be one of the key factors in order to reach global goal for Net Zero Co2 emissions by 2050.”
EXIT is one of the biggest music festivals in Europe, having had 200,000 people in attendance last year. It originated as a youth movement for peace and freedom in Serbia and the Balkans twenty years ago.
The music festival is committed to leading the charge when it comes to sustainability. This year, live streaming of concerts will allow those who couldn’t attend to enjoy the music at home, and footage will be interspersed with environmental videos and messages. Audiences watching all over the world will also be able to donate to chosen eco organisations via the stream, entitled Life Stream.
Prime Minister Ana Brnabić states that Serbia is “committed” to fighting the climate crisis and, with support from EU partners, hopes “to accomplish this very ambitious goal.”
Read more at www.euronews.com
