We welcome the UK Government’s ambition to plant 30,000 hectares of new woodland a year by 2025 in the UK. However, the Government has not set a clear target for England’s contribution, which will likely require England to treble its planting rate by May 2024. Setting annual targets for tree planting in England would provide certainty for the sectors whilst improving transparency and accountability. We recommend that, by May 2022, the UK Government should set clear, annual targets for England...

We welcome the UK Government’s ambition to plant 30,000 hectares of new woodland a year by 2025 in the UK. However, the Government has not set a clear target for England’s contribution, which will likely require England to treble its planting rate by May 2024. Setting annual targets for tree planting in England would provide certainty for the sectors whilst improving transparency and accountability. We recommend that, by May 2022, the UK Government should set clear, annual targets for England’s contribution to reaching the overall UK goal for planting of 30,000 hectares of trees a year by 2024. Type: recommendation | Number: 1 | Paragraph: 14 | Response status: under_consideration Government response: The Nature for Climate Fund Tree Programme is designed to put tree-planting in England on the trajectory required for the UK to meet government’s net zero target. It aims to increase annual tree-planting rates to 30,000 hectares per year across the UK, with England planting at least 7,5