Target: raise tree and woodland cover by two percentage points of England’s land between 2022 and 2050, from 14.5% to 16.5%. On this chart that means woodland reaching 12.2% by 2050. The straight path needs 10.49% by now.

What it means: the Environment Act target counts all tree canopy, including trees in hedges, fields and streets, which is why it starts at 14.5%. Canopy outside woods is only measured occasionally, so this card tracks woodland, which is counted every year and makes up most of the change. The interim aim is to add 0.26 points of cover by January 2028. Woodland figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 hectares, so small changes take time to show.

Source: Forest Research, provisional woodland statistics 2026; target from the Environmental Targets (Woodland and Tree Cover) Regulations 2023.