Audit projects total failure for Trudeau’s tree-planting promise

Canada’s Environment Commissioner, Jerry DeMarco, has released an audit indicating that the Trudeau government’s goal of planting two billion trees over ten years is at risk of failing. DeMarco has stated that there is no solution to climate change and biodiversity loss that does not involve forests. However, his office found that the government is falling behind on their goals, with less than four percent of the trees expected to be planted by 2030.

“It is unlikely that the two billion trees program will meet its objectives unless significant changes are made,” he said.

Canada aimed to plant 30 million trees in 2021, followed by 60 million in 2022, but the government has already fallen short by at least 45 million trees. For the 2022 planting season, the final numbers are not yet available, but based on the number of tree-planting agreements reported, it’s estimated that around 16.5 million trees were planted.

Long-term projections suggest that by the end of the decade, only 76.2 million trees will be planted, which is just 3.8% of the two billion target. An audit has revealed that Canada will need to plant 350 million seedlings annually by 2027.

Currently, there are 94 agreements in place with private and public partners, but only 23 have reached completion as of October.

Source: tncnews.com