New Zealand Aims To Plant 1 Billion Trees To Fight Climate Change

There is little doubt that climate change is one of the biggest problems in the world today. Fortunately, some people are doing everything they can to save the planet. According to recent reports, New Zealand is now planning to plant one billion trees around the country in an effort to prevent further damage on the environment.

The country has proposed a ground-breaking program with an aim to plant one billion trees. It’s an ambitious plan but definitely not an impossible one. The New Zealand government has just allocated an additional $240 million to the project. This would bring the program’s total budget to $485 million over the next three years.

New Zealand is hoping that the new trees will help in the zero emissions target.

Forestry Minister Shane Jones is certainly supportive of the program, which proposes a zero emissions target by 2050. Planting the trees could soon be incorporated into a cap-and-trade, or emissions trading scheme (ETS), program.

“Getting the ETS right could drive the planting of 340 million trees over the next 10 years – double the amount that would be planted if the ETS was left in its current state,” Jones said. “This is one of the most important levers the Government has to incentivise the planting of trees to help reach our Billion Tree programme’s goals,” he added.  

The new trees are expected to help the country in more than just fighting climate change. They could also help protect landscapes from the consequences of climate change like flooding and storms. Additionally, they could aid in rehabilitating degraded environments, help wildlife thrive, and provide around 1,000 jobs in the country.

The country could soon begin planting the new trees around New Zealand.

The program is certainly a hopeful plan for the future but it has also been attacked by critics around New Zealand. Nevertheless, the government is planning to move forward and call on public-private partnerships that can provide grants to landowners so they could plant trees on their properties.