Confor, Scotland's Climate Change Committee concerned over government's forestry budget cuts; 9,000 hectares of new woodland creation forecast under 2024-25 budget represents a continued gap in Scotland meeting its tree planting ambition, Net Zero targets

Letter

From Lord Ian Duncan, Chair of Confor, to Chris Stark, CEO of Climate Change Committee

Dear Chris,

I am writing in my capacity as chair of Confor, and with regard to the announcement by the Scottish Government that the 2024/25 budget for woodland creation will be cut by 41% as compared to the current financial year.

Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon has estimated that the 2024/25 budget could deliver around 9,000 hectares of woodland creation. For comparison, Confor understands that the responsible agency – Scottish Forestry, has approved over 14,000 hectares for planting in 2023/24.

The Scottish Government has enshrined in law an objective of achieving net zero by 2045. Woodland creation is expected to play a key role in achieving this objective, and the Scottish Government has set a target of woodland creation being 18,000 hectares a year from 2024/25.

As CEO of the Climate Change Committee, I would welcome your perspective on this reduced budget - are you concerned that the budget reduction for woodland creation for Scotland will significantly reduce the contribution of tree planting to meeting the Scottish Government's net zero by 2045 ambitions? Will the CCC be examining the Scottish Government’s final budget to assess its impact on net zero by 2045 and write to the Scottish Government?

Yours sincerely,

Lord Duncan of Springbank
Chair
Confederation of Forest Industries (UK) Ltd

Dear Lord Duncan,

Thank you for your letter regarding the recent announcement by the Scottish Government on the decision to reduce the funding budget allocated to woodland planting in Scotland.

The Climate Change Committee has previously advised that a rapid increase in woodland creation is required to support the land use sector’s contribution to Net Zero targets. New woodlands show a time lag before they become effective in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Any delay in delivering tree planting in the near-term will risk not achieving the emissions reduction required to meet targets in the 2030’s and beyond.

The Scottish Government had committed to a target of 18,000 hectares in 2024/25, while the Committee has recommended in its advice that planting rates of 15,000 hectares be reached and maintained in Scotland from 2025 onwards. Though the creation of new woodland in Scotland currently exceeds the rest of the UK combined, rates of planting have declined since 2020, with only 8,200 hectares reported in 2022/23.

The 9,000 hectares of new woodland creation forecast as possible under the coming year’s budget cuts represents a continued gap in Scotland meeting its tree planting ambition. The Committee has serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s planned cuts to the woodland creation budget, at a time when the Scottish Government continues to underperform against the recommended planting rates. Alongside direct grant support, a comprehensive plan is needed to overcome barriers to woodland creation, and should address skills, contractor and nursery capacity and support land manager access to private finance.

The Scottish Government is expected to publish a draft of its refreshed Climate Change Plan in 2024. This Plan will need to set out a comprehensive strategy outlining the actions and policies required, as well as how these will work together to achieve Scotland’s emissions targets. The CCC intends to assess this Plan when it is released as part of our Scottish Progress Report later this year. Through these annual progress reports, we will also continue to examine progress on policy development, implementation, and delivery. This includes considering the impact on Net Zero of relevant decisions taken in the Scottish Government’s budgets, including for woodland creation.