Boris Johnson promises £640million to plant more trees in bid to win over young voters

BORIS Johnson promises to triple the number of trees being planted in Britain to keep the nation green. The PM is unveiling a fresh £640m to plant 30 million more trees in existing forests across the nation, new ones and across towns too. The plan to soak up carbon – which meets recommendations made by […]

BORIS Johnson promises to triple the number of trees being planted in Britain to keep the nation green.

The PM is unveiling a fresh £640m to plant 30 million more trees in existing forests across the nation, new ones and across towns too.

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The plan to soak up carbon – which meets recommendations made by the independent Committee on Climate Change – is a bid to win over younger voters who see the changing environment as one of their top ballot box priorities.

The Tory leader also announces a new Blue Planet Fund worth £500m to safeguard the oceans.

It will be funded by aid money diverted away from DFID’s huge budget.

The cash will be used to protect marine habitats and restore their potential to support biodiversity and tackle climate change.

The PM said: “There is nothing more conservative than protecting our environment and these measures sit alongside our world-leading commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”

“But, just as with our planned investment in schools and hospitals, we can only do any of this if we end the gridlock and deadlock in parliament with a Conservative majority Government.”

“At the same time today, the Lib Dems will pledge to plant 60 million new trees a year – double Boris’s number, in a tree bidding war.”

“The party’s leader Jo Swinson will plant a tree in Hampstead today to launch what she dubs as the “largest tree-planting programme in UK history”.

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