As per the UK forestry industry organization, to meet official targets, tree planting in Northern Ireland must triple. The Confederation of Forest Industries (ConFor) has advised any future administration to prioritize updating the forestry plan. Incentives and targets for increasing wood production and supporting jobs, as well as achieving net-zero emissions, should be included. The Agriculture Department claimed that it was committed to increase tree planting. ConFor CEO Stuart Goodall said that locally grown wood could help reduce emissions. As reported by Confor’s chief executive, planting healthy forests creates new jobs, and timber prices are rising rapidly due to the strength of the wood industry.

Two years ago, Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots established an aim of planting 18 million trees by 2030. This will necessitate the annual planting of 900 hectares. Currently, only 200 to 300 hectares are afforested each year, according to statistics. As claimed by Brian Murphy, CEO of the timber company Balcas, they have a lot of unproductive land that may be used for forests. Throughout its lifetime, each hectare might absorb 12 to 20 tonnes of carbon, removing a significant amount of CO2 from the atmosphere. He also noted that this will help Northern Ireland achieve some of its many climate objectives.