Tree planting in England is falling “well short” of the government’s targets despite Boris Johnson’s promise that new woodland would play a key role in delivering net zero emissions, according to the public spending watchdog.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has estimated that between 1,400 and 1,900 hectares of trees will be planted this year under its Nature for Climate Fund tree programme. It had hoped to plant 2,577 hectares to be on course to achieve the government’s target of planting at least 7,500 hectares a year by March 2025.
The National Audit Office (NAO) questioned whether the target was realistic. “At no point in the past 50 years has the annual rate of tree planting in England reached 7,500 hectares
