One in five trees planted using taxpayer funding died due to drought last year, leaving the UK even further away from meeting its legally-binding tree cover targets.
Data released to The i Paper under a Freedom of Information request shows at least 821,177 (22 per cent) of the 3,771,291 saplings funded by the Forestry Commission last year died due to prolonged hot and dry weather.
Increasing tree coverage is an important part of the UK’s net zero strategy as forests absorb excess carbon dioxide. They can also help boost biodiversity and reduce flooding when planted correctly.
Shorts
However, the UK is falling far behind its target of planting 30,000 hectares of new trees annually, with just half of that planted across the four nations in 2024/25.
