CONFOR has issued a message to whomever follows Boris Johnson into No 10, urging them to do much more to support forestry and hit tree-planting targets.
The Tory leader announced his intention to resign this afternoon, following more than 50 resignations from his government.
He spoke at a Downing Street press conference, acknowledging he had lost the confidence of his MPs and saying the timetable for choosing a new Conservative leader will be announced next week.
Insisting his government had achieved "so much", Johnson said the Tories were doing well "after quite a few months of pretty relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally".
He added: “It’s painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself."
His resignation follows a string of scandals - most recently and prominently his appointment of Chris Pincher to deputy chief whip following allegations of sexual assault.
However, it was Johnson's record on tree planting that drew criticism from trade body Confor, along with a message urging his susccessor to do better.
READ MORE: PM urged to take personal respondibility for tree-planting failure
Chief executive Stuart Goodall said: "Boris Johnson's forestry policy was strong on ambition, but disappointingly light on delivery.
"He campaigned at the 2019 general election on a pledge to plant 30,000 hectares of new woodland every year across the UK by the end of the parliamentary term in December 2024. The latest planting figures, released just weeks before the Prime Minister announced his resignation, showed less than half the target (13,860 hectares) being achieved.
"Confor believes there is no chance of meeting the target - despite all the crucial economic and environmental policy reasons for doing so. The fact that only 12 per cent of new woodland created in England in 2022 was productive conifer species is especially worrying - given the looming timber crisis, with demand soaring and supply falling."
Pointing to far better results north of the border, where the latest figures showed nearly 80 per cent of the yearly woodland creation target achieved, despite the main planting season being badly affected by storms, he said: "The new Prime Minister and Forestry Minister need to take a leaf from Scotland's book and show they understand that productive forestry can help the UK move towards its net zero target by decarbonising the construction industry - providing the timber to build the millions of new homes we need. Greater tree planting and wood use can also support the 'levelling up' agenda.
"To increase planting, the new PM and his DEFRA team must make it easier to create new forests, and understand that growing more wood at home - in modern mixed-species, productive forests - is good for our economy AND our environment. The environmental benefits are not just about tackling climate change and enhancing biodiversity, but also reducing pressure on fragile forests overseas by taking more responsibility to plant trees at home."
Stuart summed up: "Put simply - keep the ambition, but get stuck into delivery. Less rhetoric, more trees in the ground, please, new Prime Minister."
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