The UK government's downsized forest goals
At the start of 2023, the government in the UK did the opposite of what most people do when starting a new year - the government gave up. Where most people pledge to be better - they're going to work harder, exercise more, be friendlier, eat better, save money, and generally be the best they can be, the UK government kicked off 2023 with a general shrug of their shoulders and an, 'oh well, that's too hard.'
We're talking about trees and their goals for tree planting… Goals slashed like an Amazonian rainforest.
What were the original goals?
UK forest cover is 13%, among the lowest in Europe.
In line with the Paris Accord in 2015, The UK Government committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050.
In 2021, the government released 'Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener'. In the document, the government addresses the need for change and how to bring that change about.
As part of its strategy for achieving net-zero carbon by 2050, the government committed to planting 74,000 acres of trees yearly- equivalent to 90 million and 120 million trees per year.
How many acres were planted in 2021/ 22?
One would think a new plan would be embraced excitedly and maybe even overreaching at the start. But not here. Not when it comes to the government's actions to reach net zero by 2050.
The government has not planted more than 37,000 acres a year in over twenty years! New statistics show just over 34 thousand acres were planted in the 12 months before March 2022. The figure is slightly higher than 2021's 33 thousand acres planted.
Further damning news came in June 2022, when The Confederation of Forest Industries (Confor) said there was "zero chance" of the government fulfilling that pledge. "This is a total policy failure in both economic and environmental terms," said Confor chief executive Stuart Goodall.
The goal was to achieve 17.5% woodland coverage of England's total land area by 2050. But, the response to this lacklustre tree-planting performance has been to lower its sights. Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has knocked a complete percentage off the target, dropping it to 16.5% tree coverage by 2050. To put this into perspective, that single percentage lower equals more than 247,000 acres that won't be planted. That's 37 million fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide being removed from the atmosphere by trees by the end of the century.
What can be done to reach net zero by 2050?
There's a lot of official literature from the government published in its effort to set out its mandate of achieving net zero. All these promises can be cited. They can be bashed. But citing or bashing does nothing.
Instead, we must look at the goals and the deficit and work together to plug the holes.
While the argument goes from farmers that land values will drop if the land is planted with trees, there's a lot of evidence pointing the other way. Agricultural activities can be enhanced by having more diversity of plants on farmland. As well as bringing more natural (read cheaper) fertility to soil and more insects and animals doing their productivity thing, plants also reduce operational costs. They provide shelter for animals and buildings. Providing shelter for animals against the elements can reduce stress on animals and the internal work required to maintain a comfortable body temperature. Less stress and greater comfort lead to animals eating less and living to optimal ages.
Having plants around buildings also helps costs by breaking up weather. Trees provide shade and resulting coolness in the hot, hot months. Trees also protect against cold winds in the cold, cold months.
In other areas, trees do a lot to hold everything together. Literally. Trees can greatly reduce soil erosion. They can also prevent flooding. Planting a bunch of trees to fight an increasing amount of flooding in the UK is cost-effective.
So, circling back to the question of what can be done - the answer is simple. And that is to plant trees!
Sources
Protect Earth are working to restore woodlands throughout the UK. We need help!
We work with landowners (big and small), corporates, volunteers, and donors (again, big and small). If there is anywhere you want to get involved - allowing us to plant on your land, volunteering your time to plant trees, or donating to make our projects a reality, please contact us.
