New wood at Meary Veg 'must not stop fossil fuel use reduction'

Groundwork for the woodland is set to begin in 2020

A plan to plant 85,000 trees on the Isle of Man must not be used as an "excuse" to avoid cutting fossil fuel usage, the chief minister has said.

Howard Quayle said the proposed "people's wood" at Meary Veg in Santon was part of a "multi-pronged approach" to reducing the Manx carbon footprint.

The Isle of Man Woodland Trust said it should "not become an offset scheme" for the future use of gas and oil.

It said there was "no alternative to significantly reducing our emissions".

The government has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and new laws to enforce that are set to be drafted in 2020.

Mr Quayle said tree planting could be be done "quickly", unlike other initiatives, such as improving house insulation and phasing out of petrol and diesel vehicles, and was "an incredibly important part of a wide range of items that will be done".

A spokesman for the trust said while the need for tree planting "cannot be overstated... we strongly urge that the planting does not become an offset scheme for, as an example, future gas exploration".

Tree planting for the proposed wood is set to be completed by late 2021.