Ottawa’s Promise to Plant 2 Billion Trees by 2031 Unlikely to Succeed: Environment Commissioner

Jerry DeMarco, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, holds a press conference in Ottawa on April 20, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

The federal government’s promise to plant 2 billion trees by 2030 is unlikely to succeed, says Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco, noting that the initiative is less than 3 percent complete after its first two years in action.

DeMarco’s office tabled several reports on April 20 addressing a range of environmental issues, one of which was the “2 Billion Trees Commitment“ (2BT) introduced in 2021 to give ”financial support to organizations to plant trees over 10 years.”

DeMarco’s office wrote in a report on “Forests and Climate Change” that the tree-planting initiative will not succeed unless it sees “significant changes,” as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The environment commissioner said Natural Resources Canada (NRC) almost met its goal to plant 30 million trees in 2021, which was the first year of the program. In that year, 28.9 million trees were planted as a direct result of the program.

However, NRC “fell well short” of meeting its 2022 goal to plant 60 million trees, said DeMarco, who estimated the department would only be able to manage about 16.5 million trees in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

“In the best-case scenario, after 2 years, the program would reach only 2.3% of the overall 2 billion tree goal in 2022,” said the report.

In its original 2BT plan, NRC estimated it would gradually increase the number of trees it planted each year from 2021 through 2030.

In 2024, the department estimated it would plant 100 million, with that number doubling in the subsequent year. NRC also hoped to plant 320 million trees each year from 2027 through 2029.

Reporters asked DeMarco about his report after it was tabled on April 20, and he told them that NRC is “not on track” to meet its tree-planting goals.

“We provide recommendations that would allow them to get back on track,” he added. adding, “It’s still possible to catch up.”

Space Restrictions

Besides falling behind on planting estimates, DeMarco identified numerous other problems with the initiative, including a lack of “long-term project agreements” with the provinces and territories, which he said raises space restrictions for NRC.

“There are not that many federal lands to plant a lot of trees,” he said, adding that the department needs to establish partnerships with provinces, territories, municipalities, and indigenous communities to provide itself with the land necessary for planting the trees.

The environment commissioner also said NRC never determined how it would monitor the trees over the long term after they had been planted.

DeMarco wrote in his report that NRC “will not know whether these trees have survived or whether they are benefitting Canadians as intended” because of the department’s lack of planned monitoring.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault responded to DeMarco’s report after it was tabled, telling reporters his department will continue “full steam ahead” with its current climate plan.

Guilbeault acknowledged that his department needs to “refine” its reporting on the matter, but said they “won’t stop fighting climate change while we figure out reporting methodologies.”

One of the 2BT program’s stated main goals is tackling “climate change,” but DeMarco said NRC has not yet provided reports showing how or if the changes in forest management has reduced Canada’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

“Reporting on forests’ contribution to Canada’s emission reduction target was also inconsistent, as it was included in some reporting but not in all,” he said.

“This makes it difficult for decision-makers to use the information to guide policy decisions and for Canadians to hold government to account.”