A hardy, fast-growing grass known as lyu xin (green heart) is being hailed as a new addition to the world's arsenal in the fight against climate change.

The grass can grow 5 meters in two months and acts like a carbon sponge, capturing much higher levels of carbon dioxide than trees, said Lei Xuejun, director of the Carbon Cycle Research Center at the Central South University of Forestry and Technology in Hunan province.

Lei, who is in Paris this week for the global climate change conference, COP 21, first cultivated the hybrid grass in 2013 and continues to lead the research. The long-term affects of the grass are still being studied.