- Defra's Nature for Climate Fund Programme has shown success,
with a wide range of stakeholders positive about its impact in
increasing tree planting and peatland restoration – but a further
step-change in activity is required to achieve government's
long-term targets.
- Some momentum on tree planting and peat restoration has been
lost during a period of uncertainty over future plans.
- Defra, key delivery partners and the wider sector had
capacity constraints early on, and there was a lack of alignment
with wider policy.
- There are opportunities, but also challenges, to further
increase activity by reducing barriers to participation and
leveraging private finance.
Defra's Nature for Climate Fund Programme has had some success in
increasing tree planting and peatland restoration across England.
These activities make significant contributions to greenhouse gas
reductions, and other improvements such as biodiversity, air
quality and access to woodland.
But a new report from the NAO finds that recent funding
uncertainty has slowed momentum and there are opportunities for
increased participation and use of private finance in future
schemes.
In 2022 (the latest data available), just 14.9% of England's land
was covered by trees, one of the lowest in Europe. The
Nature for Climate Fund Programme, established by Defra in 2020,
aimed to increase tree coverage and to restore peatland, 80% of
which in England is in a dry or degraded state.
The NAO finds that the Programme led to a substantial increase in
tree planting and peatland restoration. This includes, in
2024-25, directly funding 6,324 hectares of tree planting (out of
7,162 total hectares in England). While this was lower than the
target of 7,500 hectares a year, it is nearly as much as the
amount planted in total over the five years before the Programme
was established.
However, the Programme had a slow start and earlier years were
further away from planned levels of activity, meaning it missed
its headline cumulative targets; to achieve 28,728 hectares of
tree planting and 35,000 hectares of peatland restoration.
In the five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the Programme directly
funded:
- 15,268 hectares of tree planting (53% of the target). Total
tree planting in England in the period was 21,186 hectares (74%
of the target); and
- 23,526 hectares of restored peatland (67% of the target).
Total peatland restoration in England in the period was 26,426
hectares (76% of the target).
Stakeholders such as community forest organisations, landowners
and third sector organisations reported delays initially to the
processing of grant applications and land use changes, leading to
a slow start to the Programme.
Defra expects the Programme to deliver very high value for money.
Its estimates of the actual benefits it has delivered (such as
carbon sequestration, improved air quality and biodiversity) do
not yet cover the full range of outcomes or the whole five-year
period, but it plans a final evaluation later in 2026.
The NAO recommends that Defra:
- Further improve its monitoring of intended beneficial
outcomes from its investment in tree planting and peatland
restoration activities.
- Ensure there is a process to prioritise its objectives for
future programmes, for example between carbon reduction, timber
production and nature improvements.
- Take a more proactive approach to managing tensions between
government's ambition to restore nature and its other policy
objectives that are putting development pressure on peatland and
woodland.
- Revisit long-term targets for tree planting and peatland
restoration by 2050 to establish whether they remain realistic
and ensure they are aligned with delivery capacity.
- Where possible, reduce uncertainty for delivery partners and
wider stakeholders, particularly during transition periods.
- Create the right conditions to attract private investment in
nature restoration activities.
, head of the NAO,
said:
“Defra's Nature for Climate Programme has helped to
significantly increase tree planting and peatland restoration in
England.
In order to ensure momentum doesn't stall, Defra should apply
what it has learned about the most effective use of its funding,
to maximise the climate and biodiversity benefits and attract
private investment.”
