Background
Planting trees and restoring peatland help to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. This makes them important contributors towards achieving net zero by 2050. They can also tackle biodiversity loss and improve air quality and access to nature for recreation.
To support the government’s long-term aims for the UK, Defra had targets for England of at least 7,500 hectares of annual tree planting and 35,000 hectares of peatland restoration from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Defra’s commitments were supported and funded by the Nature for Climate Fund programme, which had a total budget of £764 million up to March 2025.
Our 2022 report Planting trees in England highlighted the significant challenges that Defra had to address to achieve its ambitious targets. Recent reporting by the Climate Change Committee and Office for Environmental Protection indicate that, although some progress has been made, Defra has fallen short of the targets for both tree planting and peatland restoration.
In the 2025 Spending Review, HM Treasury confirmed up to £400 million for additional nature schemes including for tree planting and peatlands.
Scope
This study will consider the extent to which the Nature for Climate Fund programme has met its objectives for both tree planting and peatland restoration, and what lessons can be taken from how Defra has delivered it. We will examine:
- how Defra structured the programme and what has been spent;
- to what extent the programme has achieved its objectives; and
- what lessons can be learned from how Defra has managed the programme.
NAO team
Director: Rich Sullivan-Jones
Senior Audit Manager: Helen Roberts