Official Government recognition that planting new woods will help the UK tackle climate change has brought a massive boost to woodland creation plans from the Woodland Trust.
Announcement of the new UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, with specific mention of tree planting, coincided with the Trust’s Woodland Creation reception at the House of Commons and publication of its new report - Woodland Creation; Why it Matters’ - and comes hard on the heels of a new Woodland Carbon product from the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity.
It triggered an impromptu appearance and speech at the reception by Forestry Minister Huw Irranca-Davies, and added huge weight to the Trust’s own calls for an extra 15K hectares (37.5K acres) of UK native woodland to be planted annually.
The Low Carbon Transition Plan - an ambitious road map for the UK to meet its legally binding target of a 34% cut in greenhouse gas emissions - has put woodland creation firmly in the picture on plans for a low carbon UK.
It states that if 10K hectares of new woodland are planted every year, the resulting new trees will lock away a staggering 50 million tonnes of carbon by 2050, making a very real contribution to the country’s carbon reduction targets.
The Minister said: “We must acknowledge the importance of woodland, not least the contribution it makes to our carbon footprint. Whether it is a small wood or an individual’s action to plant a tree, whether in an urban situation or on a larger scale, it is a step towards boosting the contribution that woodland can make.”
The reception was hosted by Peter Luff, MP for mid-Worcestershire and Chair of the Commons Business and Enterprise Committee.
A large gathering including MPs, business people, funding bodies, forestry organisations and Trust President Clive Anderson heard Sue Holden, Trust Chief Executive, outline the charity’s ambitions of planting 15K hectares a year. She said: “We have some very ambitious targets, but they are achievable if we can inspire others to work with us to create more woodland.”
“Woodland benefits people, wildlife and the environment in so many ways and to hear high level Government support for woodland creation is music to our ears.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Hilary Allison, Trust policy director, who said: “This is an important and welcome shift in the Government’s attitude to increasing the amount of woodland cover in England and vindicates our long held belief that more woods are not only desirable but necessary to a future full of environmental economic uncertainty.
“This is a visible outcome of our attempts over many years to have woodland creation taken far more seriously. We now urgently need to do is to drive forward action to secure the funding needed to make this happen.”
The Trust has just launched a programme of planting trees on other people’s land, MOREwoods, working with farmers, landowners and the public sector.
Its new ‘Woodland Carbon’ project will help individuals, groups and companies to mitigate their residual carbon emissions by planting trees at UK sites, whilst at the same time creating valuable wildlife habitats, aiding flood alleviation, offering wind protection and creating native woodland for people to enjoy.