By Stewart Mior in News - Original — Dec 9, 2024

Labour Government to Scale Up UK Tree Planting

UK tree planting expands as Labour Government minister Mary Creagh launches a taskforce to drive reforestation across all four nations.

Image courtesy of Andrew Shannon.

UK Launches Tree Planting Taskforce to Green the Future

The UK government has launched a Tree Planting Taskforce to oversee the planting of millions of trees across all four nations. Announced on November 28, 2024, this collaborative effort brings together ministers, forestry experts, and industry leaders to address climate change, protect biodiversity, and boost green jobs.

Stuart Goodall: “A Goldilocks Moment”

Stuart Goodall, CEO of Confor, described this as a “Goldilocks moment” for the forestry sector—conditions are “just right” to align industry goals with government policies, as reported in Confor . He emphasized the importance of clear, stable policies and strong private sector confidence to unlock the full potential of the sector. Public-private collaboration, he noted, will be essential to meeting ambitious woodland creation targets while ensuring sustainable growth.

Forestry Minister Mary Creagh echoed this optimism, highlighting how trees absorb carbon, cool urban areas, and improve mental health. “Trees deliver huge social, environmental, and economic benefits,” she noted in the press release , emphasizing the role of thriving forests in creating green jobs and fostering economic growth.

Scaling Up UK Reforestation Initiatives

As we’ve discussed before, Scotland leads the way in woodland creation, accounting for 75% of the UK’s new woodlands in 2023/24. However, the taskforce aims to unify efforts across all nations, leveraging innovative funding and cross-border collaboration to expand tree cover. The initiative aligns with broader goals like achieving net-zero emissions, meeting the Environment Act’s target of 16.5% tree cover by 2050, and protecting 30% of land and seas by 2030.

The £400 million investment in England for tree planting and peatland restoration highlights the government's commitment to these goals. Additionally, there is a growing focus on using timber in construction, which provides a triple benefit: sequestration, storage, and substitution of high-carbon materials like concrete and steel.

Planting a Greener Future

By uniting government, industry, and communities, the UK’s Tree Planting Taskforce aims to create a legacy of greener landscapes and thriving ecosystems for generations to come. As Stuart Goodall stated, “Forestry is the answer to so many questions.” However, it remains to be seen whether the UK intends to disclose granular data on what is planted on a per-site basis, meaning we do not know the survival, biodiversity, or other key statistics for individual projects.