Tree-planting has been placed at the heart of England’s climate strategy after the government announced plans to treble the amount of woodland, but critics have warned that the strategy does not go far enough.
The UK currently has 13 per cent of the country covered by woodland, but needs to increase that to 17 per cent by 2050, with the expectation that the additional trees will help capture some of the carbon emissions which are not eliminated by other reducing strategies.
The England Trees Action Plan will take the 5,800 acres planted each year and increase that to 17,300 acres a year by May 2024. The project is expected to combine planting of native trees and encouraging natural regeneration, whereby trees grow back naturally.
The plan was announced on Tuesday, with the government report saying: “It is our ambition that all woodlands in England will improve the environment, acknowledging that our woods and trees are vital habitats as well as important for sequestering carbon. This plan aims to see current planting trends for majority native broadleaf woodlands continue, given the additional benefits they provide for nature.
England’s woodlands will be managed and created for biodiversity and other environmental benefits, along with providing a sustainable source of hardwood and softwood timber for use in construction and other wood products. These are an effective carbon store and we expect to see increased demand for timber as we transition to a green economy.”
But the move has been criticised by climate campaigners, with Danny Gross from Friends of the Earth saying: “The Government’s new plan fails to rise to the challenge of the climate and nature crisis.
“It means England would grow less than a quarter of the woodland needed to hit the Government’s existing unambitious short-term target for the UK, leaving Scotland and Wales to do all the heavy lifting.
“The Government needs to up its game and set a long-term tree cover target, protect other natural habitats and support farmers to grow more trees.”
