Trees and climate change

That this House welcomes the recommendation in the Committee on Climate Change report on Net Zero for a significant increase in tree planting rates in the UK, as one part of delivering the UK target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, in addition to rapid, deep and sustained emissions reductions in all parts of the economy; notes the significant role trees play in enhancing accessible green spaces, improving air quality, boosting agricultural productivity, restoring and protecting soil health, providing construction material and wood products, creating wildlife habitat, mitigating flood risk and benefiting public health; recognises the role of government, alongside others, in the doubling of forest cover during the past century in the UK; calls on the Government rapidly to develop and deploy policy levers and funding mechanisms to deliver a major increase in tree planting including agroforestry and improved tree conservation, to assist in securing the net zero goal in an environmentally-friendly way; further calls on the Government to establish a legally binding target, with appropriate interim targets, which at least match the Committee on Climate Change recommendation to deliver 19 per cent forest cover by 2050, with an ambition for another doubling in UK forest cover building on that achieved in the last century.