Petition the UK government to plant 1 billion trees throughout the UK!

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) recent warning for urgent action on the reduction of atmospheric CO2 is clear. Scientists and our government are committed and in agreement that we need urgent action now towards the reduction of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions and to lock up existing atmospheric carbon. One of the key messages in this report is that deforestation is one of the greatest causes of carbon release as trees absorb and lockup CO2 and the worldwide clearing of them has had the opposite effect of unlocking the carbon they store. If we plant 1 billion trees we can have the opposite effect. New Zealand and Australia have just passed excellent legislation to do exactly this over the next decade and it’s time the UK made the same commitment.

The overwhelming benefits this would bring, both locally and globally, are as follows;

Uptake of and therefore reduction in atmospheric CO2 that lead to local and global temperature rise.

This will proactively negate increases in global temperature from CO2. We currently and will certainly continue to pump CO2 as a by product into the atmosphere until we transition away from fossil fuels. Sadly this is certain to take many years.

Increasing and protecting our dwindling native wildlife and biodiversity.

Reduce the likelihood of local and global ecosystem crash.

Repair soil fertility levels, which is crucial for farming. Environment Secretary Michael Gove has warned recently that the UK is 30 to 40 years away from “the fundamental eradication of soil fertility” in parts of the country.

Increase insect and bird populations, which are essential for pollination. Insect levels have plummeted 75% in the last 25 years. This astonishing fact alone should cause us alarm. Insects are the base of the food chain, essential for pollination and thus food production. Bird populations face a similarly grim picture, with most in heavy decline and many on the precipice of extinction. Birds of course rely on woodland and areas which are left wild.

Provide a safe space for people to enjoy uncontrolled wild areas. Access to nature has been shown to reduce stress levels, and have a positive impact on mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression.

Improvements to air quality. It's been estimated that 40,000 early deaths are attributed to air pollution every year in the UK.

Developing a truly self sufficient forestry sector not reliant on imported lumber. This leads to less demand for imported lumber and thus less trees being felled elsewhere and shipped to the UK. All of which helps toward reducing our carbon footprint. It would also lead to the creation of local/regional jobs, where they are most needed.

Mitigate future flood risk damage. Trees and vegetation uptake water and slow the runoff during heavy rainfall. With our weather becoming more uncertain due to climate change and the increased frequency of storms this will become more of an issue over time if we do nothing about it. The cost of extreme weather to the taxpayer is enormous, and is higher to the individual in the form of increased insurance premiums and to the individuals it hits worst, the costs are incalculable.

Encourage Eco-tourism. This would be a huge area of growth economically from both domestic and foreign travellers.

Reduce the UK's carbon footprint to help hit longer term emissions targets. Which will be easier if we start this process now.

Be an example to other countries to follow suit. With the UK's departure from the EU imminent this is the perfect opportunity for us to solidify our climate obligations and take a bold step showing world leadership in this area.

Pakistan have already started this under Imran Khan's government to great effect in the Khyber Pakhtunkhaw (KPK), planting 1 billion trees in just over two years and surpassing their international commitment of restoring 350,000 hectares of forests and degraded land. They have further plans to plant 10 billion trees across the country. Despite being 3 times larger in land area Pakistan is only the 41st richest country in the world by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data. They have done this despite entrenched corruption and against the backdrop of the challenges and poverty that exist in that country. The UK by stark contrast is the 7th richest in the world and has a much more stable political and social system, so we should easily be able to achieve a goal of 1 billion.

How do we achieve this ambitious goal? Obviously we would need to debate this and take the views of experts from many fields. There is already a good precedent set from other countries doing this. Here are a few suggestions to get the conversation started:

It sounds like an impossible task to plant so many - but it isn't. We have so much land in the UK which can be used for this purpose. For starters just replanting the existing hedgerows that have been stripped back, planting new hedgerows alongside borders with land that have none, areas where we have viable open space for a few trees in villages, towns and cities. Areas where vegetation grows are often needlessly mowed back for neatness and trees are seen as a nuisance that just get in the way of mowing the grass. It doesn't need to be this way. We can find space.

The most effective place to allow and plant vegetation is where we emit CO2. Cities, towns and villages have many areas where we can allow more street trees and trees in open spaces to be enjoyed by all. However this is also where space is at a premium, so we need to go outside into the countryside to get the majority of this work done!

Roadsides are often the most verdant and dense areas for trees and vegetation. We should expand this as much as possible.

We can use the edges or perimeters of some farmland to increase the hedge line by a tiny fraction, say an additional 3m -10m depending on how vast the field is. This simple option would be enough in its own right to achieve this number alone.  Obviously the farmers would need to be compensated for the 'loss' of any income for any area of farmed land. This is not a problem as we currently subsidise farmers and landowners, at huge taxpayer cost, to keep land clear and overproduce food that is far in excess of what we actually use. So why not simply switch a tiny percentage of that subsidy over to subsidise environmental protection? With our exit from the EU and with farming subsidies needing to be looked at and reordered this would be the perfect time for such measures to be introduced.

This idea can be expanded to incorporate entire fields, which have a much higher total volume in area. This idea doesn't need to cost anything either. A field left untouched will totally re-wild itself over time without any interference from humans. The seeds will blow in on the wind, be carried by bird and insect life and the 'planting' itself will take place naturally, as it has done all throughout time. It will improve the soil quality and increase insect, bird and animal pollinators, which will have a long term direct feedback loop of improved farm production for neighbouring farms.

We have vast areas of heavily degraded land in the UK, much of which is used for sheep farming. Much of this land needs time away from permanent pasture to allow the soil fertility levels to recover from the massive overuse of intensive grazing. Sheep farming, like most farming, is heavily subsidised, so as before, the subsidy in selected parts could literally be switched. This does not need to be an end to sheep farming or the way of life of sheep farmers, just a sensible and well needed introduction of an older rotation system of farming. Formerly fields were left fallow to recover. They can then be re-grazed in the future and the rotation continues. Ecologists suggest a period of 10-30 years is needed to repair the damage we've done. It also requires nearly zero effort - the only thing we need to do is not intensively graze it down to the bare earth.

On an individual level, people should be encouraged to plant, and sometimes just leave, native wildlife in their own gardens and estates. Encouragement and education should be made more widely available through media awareness campaigns so people understand how to encourage wildlife into their gardens and not keep it out.

All too often in the fight against climate change and ecosystem destruction we lose hope, thinking it's too big a problem to solve. But things can be done that don't require huge sacrifices. These are proactive measures that will actively negate the global impact we are having on Earth.

Thank you for taking your valuable time to read this. If you feel strongly about protecting our future please sign the petition below, share with your friends and help educate others about the good things we should be doing right now.