A forest area equivalent to the size of the Isle of Wight has not been planted because UK governments have failed to meet tree-planting goals since 2020, according to Carbon Brief analysis.
The latest figures from Forest Research show that only 15,700 hectares of trees were planted across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the past year.
This is roughly half the annual target of 30,000 hectares by 2025 that was set by the previous Conservative government.
After the 2019 general election, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) laid out a planned trajectory for England from 2020 up to 2025.
Tree-planting is a devolved issue, so Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have had their own annual targets.
The chart below shows how, collectively, the nations have repeatedly missed these goals.
The cumulative impact of missed tree-planting targets over the past five years adds up to 36,429 hectares of unplanted forest, equal to nearly the size of the Isle of Wight.
This gap has grown since last year, when Carbon Brief analysis showed that the missed targets equated to a 22,129-hectare – or “Birmingham-sized” – forest.
As the location of most UK tree-planting, Scotland has also been the biggest contributor to the shortfall.
Shortly before the latest figures were released, government advisors at the Climate Change Committee (CCC) pointed to the UK’s “highest planting rate in two decades” in 2023-24. However, it noted its “concerns that recent reductions in funding for woodland creation in Scotland could reverse this trend”.
As the CCC predicted, just 8,470 hectares of trees were planted in Scotland in 2024-25, down from 15,040 hectares the previous year.
The nation had been targeting 18,000 hectares of annual woodland creation that year, although this was scaled back to 10,000 at the end of 2024 following a 41% cut to forestry grants.
Tree-planting rates across the other nations have steadily increased, but they have still not been on track to achieve their internal goals.
While the 30,000-hectare goal has not been formally abandoned, Labour did not mention it ahead of their election win last year.
Instead, the new government only committed to “establish[ing] three new national forests in England, whilst planting millions of trees and creating new woodlands”.
(Since winning the election, Labour has announced a tree-planting “taskforce”, in part to help meet a legally binding target of raising England’s tree cover to 16.5% by 2050.)
This followed repeated warnings from industry sources and independent analysts, over the course of the previous government, that the 30,000-hectare target was slipping out of reach.
Nevertheless, the CCC urged the new Labour government last year to move quickly to meet the goal. Earlier in 2025, the committee said it remains “vital” that tree-planting more than doubles to 37,000 hectares per year by 2030 to remain on track for the UK’s net-zero target.
Such rates are necessary because trees are needed to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and balance out remaining emissions from sectors that are not able to completely decarbonise by the 2050 net-zero date, the CCC says.
Around two-thirds of the trees planted last year were broadleaves rather than conifers, which grow faster and, therefore, absorb more CO2 in the short term. This is likely due to the decline in tree-planting across Scotland, which is home to most of the UK’s commercial conifer plantations.
Methodology
This article is an update of Carbon Brief analysis published ahead of the general election last year, which assessed progress towards tree-planting goals in the UK and the devolved administrations.
During the 2019 election campaign, the Conservatives committed to a UK-wide goal of creating 30,000 hectares of new woodland a year by the end of parliament, which was pegged for 2024-25. (Annual tree-planting figures are reported for the period between 1 April in one year and 31 March in the following year.)
Within this, England had a planned trajectory set out by Defra, Scotland had annual tree-planting goals, Wales targeted “at least” 2,000 hectares a year from 2020 and Northern Ireland set out annual goals in its “forest service business plans”.
For the final year, Carbon Brief compared the 2024-25 tree-planting rates recorded in Forest Research data to the overall UK-wide target of 30,000 hectares. For the previous four years, the comparison is with the combined annual targets set by the devolved administrations.
The post Chart: UK misses tree-planting targets by forest the ‘size of Isle of Wight’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.
Chart: UK misses tree-planting targets by forest the ‘size of Isle of Wight’
Despite skyrocketing demand driven by data center development, the industry says it is not the cause of increasing costs for consumers.
Advocates for lower electricity prices in Pennsylvania said Wednesday their goals can be achieved by requiring large-load users like data centers to supply their own power rather than taking it from the grid, by reducing utility profits and by speeding up the interconnection of new clean-energy projects.
Pennsylvania Activists Urge Lawmakers to Help Curb Soaring Electric Bills
The World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled new guidance for governments seeking to protect people from extreme heat, a growing priority as climate change pushes temperatures higher worldwide and intensifies heatwaves and related health risks.
The launch came as the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said on Thursday that El Niño has developed in the tropical Pacific. The climate phenomenon – which occurs naturally every few years – is predicted to intensify to a moderate or strong level this autumn, the service said.
Scientists have warned that a strong El Niño weather pattern could fuel “unprecedented” weather extremes in the coming months, including severe fires and droughts, and may make 2027 the next record-breaking hot year as it supercharges human-driven warming.
Scientists warn El Niño could intensify climate extremes in 2026
Unveiling updated recommendations for “Heat-Health Action Plans”, which are tailored for Europe but can be adapted globally, Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said that over the past four years, heat has claimed more than 200,000 lives across 32 European countries.
He added that most of those deaths were “entirely preventable” and are “just the tip of the iceberg”, with millions more people being affected physically and mentally by the effects of extreme heat. Scientists have said Europe is the fastest-warming continent.
“Individual action, such as keeping out of the heat, keeping our homes cool and keeping our bodies hydrated, can make a big difference in protecting us, but it is not enough to fight a systemic crisis,” Kluge said in a statement. “We need a coordinated, powerful and institutional response.”
The new guidance focuses on the importance of providing early warning and alerts, targeting vulnerable groups and putting in place longer-term prevention measures across households and buildings, especially in cities which are often hotter than rural areas, as well as offering practical advice on how to do that.
Who’s most vulnerable to heat?
Heat can trigger exhaustion and heat stroke, and exacerbate existing medical conditions, including diabetes and cardiovascular, respiratory and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as disrupting sleep and aggravating mental health conditions.
In a fact-sheet, the WHO warned that rising global temperatures, more people living in cities and demographic aging are increasing exposure to heat and vulnerability to its impacts. Some of the most at-risk groups include older people, children, outdoor workers, athletes and sports players, those attending mass public gatherings and poorer social groups, it said.
Employers need plans to protect workers from rising heat stress, UN says
The WHO emphasised, however, that it does not just propose wider use of air-conditioning (AC) as the solution because it is not sustainable, is often unaffordable for those with low incomes and increases energy demand.
“It contributes to both the urban heat island effect and climate change, thus worsening heat exposures in the medium and long term,” the fact-sheet said.
Europe’s intense May heatwave
On Wednesday, Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced that May 2026 was the second warmest May on record globally across land and sea.
Across Europe, the month saw a rapid transition from much cooler-than-average conditions to one of the most intense heatwaves ever observed this early in the year in western Europe, C3S said. Numerous temperature records were broken for May with France, the UK, Ireland and Portugal enduring particularly severe conditions, it added.
C3S noted that the quick flip to a period of extreme heat “likely increased impacts on populations, leaving little time for people – or crops and ecosystems during growing season – to acclimatise to much higher temperatures”.
“Prepare for rougher times”
In a foreword to the new WHO heat plan guidance, Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, wrote that extreme heat is responsible for some 95% of all climate-related deaths in Europe, undermines labour productivity and risks overwhelming hospitals.
He noted that investing in emission reductions is far cheaper than paying for climate damage.
“Yet, while we push for emission reductions, we must also prepare for rougher times. Strengthening Europe’s climate resilience, protecting both well-being and economies, is non-negotiable,” he added.
By the end of this year, the European Union plans to adopt a new framework for climate resilience across all sectors, including health.
In the UK, the independent Climate Change Committee warned last month that, in a projected scenario of 2C of global warming by 2050, recent record hot summers will become the “new normal” in the usually temperate country, putting regular stress on domestic agricultural production.
Heatwaves lasting at least a week will be common and could regularly exceed 40C in the south, the committee’s report on adaptation said, posing challenges for keeping vulnerable people sufficiently cool.
It recommended that cooling will be needed in hospitals, prisons, schools and care homes, while regulation should set maximum temperature limits for workplaces.
Berlin’s Heat-Health Action Plan
On Thursday, the WHO said that since the publication of the first edition of its heat and health guidance in 2008, far more scientific evidence and practical experience have been gained. Many countries have since established Heat-Health Action Plans, but their adoption and implementation have been uneven, it said.
Comment: Early warnings for heatwaves can save lives – and we need them now
In Germany, where local authorities are primarily responsible for heat protection, the Berlin Senate adopted a state-wide heat–health action plan in 2025. It contains 72 measures to improve heat protection for residents, including informing them every summer of the risks via traditional and digital media.
A heat protection portal offers access to Berlin’s heat–health action plan, and a map of cool places in the city, as well as behavioural advice.
Berlin Senator Ina Czyborra said the city is also working on the long-term maintenance and expansion of parks, green spaces and water bodies, which can all help alleviate the effects of heat.
“One thing is clear: protection from heat is a cross-cutting task that can only be tackled through a joint effort by all administrative departments and levels, and with the involvement of civil society actors,” she added in a statement.
The post WHO issues new guidance on heat-health action plans, as El Niño sets in appeared first on Climate Home News.
WHO issues new guidance on heat-health action plans, as El Niño sets in
Climate Change
China Briefing 11 June 2026: Tech clampdown | Extreme weather | Provinces’ energy plans
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s China Briefing.
China Briefing handpicks and explains the most important climate and energy stories from China over the past fortnight. Subscribe for free here.
Key developments
Trade tensions intensify
AUTHORITY TO RETALIATE: China has issued “sweeping” new rules that increase “controls over the overseas transfer of domestic technology”, while also giving the government “explicit” authority to retaliate against governments that restrict Chinese investments, reported finance news outlet Caixin. The rules are a “shield for Chinese enterprises”, argued an editorial in the state-run newspaper China Daily, as well as a way to “protect” China’s “development interests”. Cosimo Ries, an analyst at Trivium China, told Carbon Brief that protecting China’s lead in cleantech manufacturing is one of the aims of the regulations. He said that language around restrictive foreign actions is, in his view, “clearly designed as a response” to the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act. Ries added that the government is “increasingly working to prevent Chinese IP from being forcefully appropriated or handed away by its own companies seeking market access abroad”.
COMMISSIONERS MEET: The rules come as the EU debates plans to “broaden the use of its trade defences” to protect industries from what the EU industry commissioner described to the Financial Times as “unfair” Chinese competition. A meeting of EU commissioners reaffirmed the need for a “more robust and coherent” response to trade and investment from China, which is seen as “not sustainable”, according to a readout from the European Commission. In response, China said it will “resolutely” retaliate to any “discriminatory” EU trade measures, reported Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Chinese automaker SAIC has confirmed plans to invest €200m ($232m) to build a factory in Spain for vehicles including electric vehicles, said Caixin. Trade envoys from the EU and China backed further discussions after a meeting in early June, reported Reuters.
SURPLUS ‘WIDENED’: According to Chinese customs data covered by Bloomberg, China’s trade surplus with the EU “widened slightly” in May, though its exports to the bloc “slowed”. The outlet added ongoing EU-China trade tensions “could pose a risk to Beijing’s favoured ‘new three’ energy industries”, for which the EU was the “destination for about 40% of exports” in 2025. While country-specific data is not yet available, China’s global exports of “green products”, such as batteries and wind turbines, grew by around 40% in January-May, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Early heat tests China’s grid
PATTERNS BROKEN: China Southern Power Grid, which covers a number of provinces across southern China, reported that it saw a record electricity load of 259 gigawatts (GW) in late May, according to Shanghai-based outlet the Paper. It added that the new record – driven by “widespread cooling demand” due to high temperatures – came “nearly a month earlier” than usual, “breaking a seasonal pattern” where peaks occurred in June and July. High temperatures continued in early June across both northern and southern China, reported China Daily, with some regions reporting temperatures of almost 40C.
HEAVY RAINS: China also continued to see heavy rains across “multiple provinces in southern China”, reported China Daily, with “nearly 10,000 residents” evacuated in Guizhou after torrential rains caused flooding in the area. Flood-response measures have been activated in Hunan and Guangxi, said Bloomberg. The Communist party-affiliated People’s Daily said that floods were also expected in Yunnan, Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Meanwhile, northern China’s Hebei province experienced “dramatic” weather, including “thunderstorms, strong winds, hail and heavy downpours”, said Jing-Jin-Ji News Channel.
CROP RISK: “Against the backdrop of intensifying global warming, northern China is seeing a clear trend of more frequent and severe extreme weather,” said the People’s Daily. Meteorologists attributed the unusually early and intense rain to shifting weather patterns that “reflects broader weather changes in China associated with global warming”, said Bloomberg. An article in the People’s Daily noted that extreme and unusual weather, driven by “climate change”, has “posed varying degrees of risks and challenges to agricultural production”. Another Bloomberg article said expected further rains in southern China could “inundat[e] crops and damag[e] rice fields”.
Mineral trade controls and concerns
EXPORTS BLOCKED: Elsewhere, the Chinese government has “penalised at least 11 companies this year for illegally exporting restricted rare earths and critical minerals”, reported Caixin. It said this included a subsidiary of solar manufacturer JA (formerly JA Solar) for “shipping unlicensed graphite parts to Vietnam”. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that China’s rare-earth exports fell by 6.4% in May as “Beijing maintained tight control over shipments”. A new report on rare earths by the Center for Strategic and International Studies stated that “although China’s exports of rare earths and rare-earth magnets have resumed”, flows have been “highly volatile” and licensing has been “uneven”. This was echoed in a report by the Royal United Services Institute that said “China incentivises the export of final products containing rare earths…rather than rare earths themselves”, which could pose “risks” to electric vehicle (EV) and offshore wind supply chains.
EXPORTS CONTROLLED: Zimbabwe has announced that a Chinese company will establish a lithium-carbonate plant in the country, said Bloomberg. It said this followed a ban on lithium exports as the country aimed to “build up local processing capacity for the battery metal”. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Chinese investors in Indonesia’s coal-dependent nickel industry are looking to other countries. It said this followed plans by the Indonesian government to plan nickel export controls, tighter quotas and tax hikes.
More China news
- ‘GEC’ GUIDANCE: A new set of trial guidelines has been issued to “unify” how clean-electricity consumption is measured, said state broadcaster CCTV. Ying (Jenny) Zheng, a researcher at the Tsinghua TianGong Thinktank, told Carbon Brief that the measures are more than just accounting guidelines. She said they provide a “foundation for one of the key control indicators within China’s emerging carbon-control framework” that should help boost consumption of low-carbon power.
- TOWNS AND TRACTORS: China called for “vigorous efforts” to develop low-carbon buildings in a new 15th five-year plan for “urban renewal”, said BJX News. A five-year plan for agriculture also listed “accelerating” the “green transformation” of agriculture as one of seven key tasks, said Xinhua.
- FUNDRAISING FIGURES: China raised 6bn yuan ($885m) in green sovereign bonds, reported Bloomberg. It said these have previously been used for emissions reductions and “biodiversity preservation”.
- SALES SLUMP: Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids in China fell 7.5% year-on-year in May, reported Reuters. It said they nevertheless made up 62% of all sales, with the Associated Press noting that petrol-car sales fell 42%.
- UK DIALOGUE: UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the UK is willing to “deepen cooperation” with China on energy and climate change, according to a readout by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- MEASURING SUBSIDIES: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a report saying Chinese companies received “three to eight times more government support than firms based in the OECD”, said Agence France Presse. China’s commerce ministry responded saying the report was “one-sided and arbitrary”, according to Xinhua.
Captured
China’s emissions in January-March 2026 rose 2% year-on-year, driven by growing “curtailment” of wind and solar in the power sector due to “inflexible grid management”, said new analysis for Carbon Brief.
Spotlight
What do China’s provincial five-year plans reveal about its energy transition?
China’s provincial-level governments have now all published their 15th five-year plans – economic and social development blueprints for 2026-2030.
In this issue, Carbon Brief analyses what all 31 documents say about energy and climate.
Provinces remain focused on clean energy
At the broad level, the new provincial plans follow China’s overarching climate goals. All 31 provincial-level jurisdictions in mainland China pledged to peak carbon emissions before 2030.
Every plan also mentioned the core elements of China’s energy transition strategy, including solar, wind, hydrogen, energy storage and upgrading the power grid.
While solar featured in every plan, specific interests in the technology vary from province to province.
Some set goals to add new solar capacity by 2030. Zhejiang province aims to add 90GW of solar capacity, while Shaanxi plans to “accelerate” construction of wind and solar “bases”. Several others mentioned developing offshore solar farms in the next five years.
However, others instead focused on recycling old solar panels or strengthening solar R&D.
Almost every plan mentioned growing consumption and production of new-energy vehicles (NEVs).
Around 15 provinces mentioned promoting NEV uptake. Jilin set a target for NEVs comprising more than 50% of new car sales by 2030, although its current rate is already thought to be 47%.
While the central government is issuing directives to limit “overcapacity” in the sector, more than 20 provinces said they will continue developing their NEV industries, with many aiming to generate hundreds of billions – or even trillions – of yuan in value.
Meanwhile, 24 provinces will prioritise developing renewable power “direct connection” models, in which renewable generators supply industrial users via a dedicated line – a system that could boost consumption of clean energy.
Provinces diverge in terms of what other technologies they name and how detailed their plans are.
For example, offshore wind and nuclear are mentioned by 11 and 12 provinces respectively, with both technologies mostly targeted to be built in coastal provinces.
But in general, variation reflects more than just geography or resources endowment, said Anders Hove, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
“The differences between provinces reflect primarily differences in economic development capabilities and industrial structure,” he told Carbon Brief.
Half of provinces to expand fossil-fuel production
Almost every province pledged to peak coal and oil consumption, in line with similar language in the national-level plan.
However, 17 local governments also pledged to produce more fossil fuels – trying to peak consumption while also expanding output, opening new reserves or lifting production limits.
Most of these are regions designated as national energy-supply bases, including Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Gansu and Heilongjiang.
Yang Li, deputy executive director at the Beijing-based thinktank Institute for Global Decarbonization Progress (iGDP), toldCarbon Brief this pattern reflects the “two dimensions of China’s [energy] transition”. These are a national-level push for peaking fossil-fuel consumption and a desire for energy security by provinces rich in energy resources.
Provinces with significant fossil-fuel economies are also the most likely to mention carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), which appears in 14 plans.
Provinces jostle to take the lead on AI and hydrogen
With the national government preparing to spend trillions of yuan on datacentres for the artificial intelligence (AI) industry in the next five years, provincial officials are also tying AI to their energy systems.
More than 20 aim to use AI to help manage coal mines, power grids, oilfields and forecasting renewables output.
Yang said that “AI+energy” represents a desire by policymakers to use AI to enhance energy governance, but adds that “large-scale commercialisation [of the technology] still has some way to go”.
Unlike AI, all provincial plans mention hydrogen, which is named as a “future industry” in the central-level five-year plan.
For example, Hunan calls for promoting hydrogen trucks and rail transport and developing “renewable energy-based” hydrogen production, while Shandong pledges to focus on technological breakthroughs around hydrogen transport and storage, as well as production of green hydrogen.
Similarly, 12 provinces named the other energy-related future industry – nuclear fusion, which remains an experimental technology – as a priority for the next five years. These provinces include Anhui, Guangdong, Hebei, Hubei and Shaanxi.
This spotlight is by freelance China analyst Lekai Liu for Carbon Brief.
Watch, read, listen
FUTURE-FOCUSED: Qiushi, China’s official journal for political theory, published an edition based on “future industries”, in which President Xi Jinping called for advancing hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion.
MIGHTY MANGROVES: The Grantham Research Institute explored China’s uptake of “blue carbon credits”, which could help preserve “powerful carbon sinks” in coastal ecosystems.
IN THE LEAD: Mission Possible Partnership published a report saying China is “widening its lead” in developing a low-carbon industrial sector.
‘AUTOBESITY’: Blue Map examined “autobesity”, the trend towards larger Chinese EVs, and what this could mean for their carbon footprint
13
The number of Chinese solar companies that have joined forces to create the Space Energy Development Alliance, a new organisation to promote space solar energy, said Bloomberg.
5
Minutes devoted to the opening ceremony, which did not offer “any details” on the alliance’s objectives, according to the outlet.
New science
- National and provincial planning scenarios for China’s solar and wind expansion until 2060 will present different trade-offs with biodiversity | Nature Ecology and Evolution
- Policies to decrease carbon emissions and declines in technology costs could together help achieve “deep” carbon emissions reductions by 2060 in China’s steel industry | PNAS
Recently published on WeChat
China Briefing is written by Anika Patel, with contributions from Lekai Liu, and edited by Simon Evans. Please send tips and feedback to china@carbonbrief.org
The post China Briefing 11 June 2026: Tech clampdown | Extreme weather | Provinces’ energy plans appeared first on Carbon Brief.
China Briefing 11 June 2026: Tech clampdown | Extreme weather | Provinces’ energy plans
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