WOODLAND cover will be increased by two per cent in England by 2050, according to new government targets. 

The legally-binding goal will see the total land dedicated to woodland rise from its current level of 14.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent. 

However, this would still be well short of today's EU average of 38 per cent and is lower than the 17.5 per cent mentioned by the government in its original consultation. 

The UK Government will publish its Environmental Improvement Plan in January 2023, in which it says it will set out in more detail how it will achieve these targets, including interim objectives. This should include how many hectares of new woodland will need to be created each year in England between now and the end date. 

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey, speaking at the UN Convention in Montreal today, said: "We are committed to leaving our natural world in a better state for future generations, and today we are laying the foundations that will help deliver on this commitment.

"These targets are ambitious and will be challenging to achieve – but they will drive our efforts to restore our natural environment, protect our much-loved landscapes and green spaces and marine environment, as well as help tackle climate change." 

Publication of the targets today follows three years of consideration of the scientific and economic evidence, which was published in March 2022, to inform draft targets, ministers say.

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It comes hot on the heels of proposals to create the National Wood Strategy for England (NWSE), a 40-year plan to focus on the planting, growing, harvesting and processing of conifer and broadleaf trees for the production of timber and other wood-based products, and where possible, the reuse of wood.

Of the drop from 17.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent, Soil Association policy advisor Alex Mackaness said: "The decision to reduce ambition for tree cover from 17.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent is highly questionable in the midst of the biodiversity and climate crises." 

This is a developing story and will be updated.