Mr Clark felt the new Government's target of planting an additional 50,000ha each year was "optimistic but achievable". He said for most of the 1990s the new planting rate was more than 50,000ha a year, and in 1994 was 100,000ha "beyond keeping up with replanting".
Mr Clark said talks had been held with Mr Jones about "what can and can't be achieved" and he was in no doubt about the difficulties of increasing planting, given "more than a decade of no growth".
"In particular, we do need to build the labour force to do the planting ... we're struggling to plant enough trees to maintain the present area."
The Government is proposing farmers be brought into the emission trading scheme, by paying for just 5 per cent of their emissions. Mr Clark said given the Government wanted practical steps taken on climate change, "the only practical solution" was planting more trees to significantly lower carbon emission levels.
Just last week, Wood Council of New Zealand chairman Brian Stanley labelled the Government the "missing link" for not specifying wooden construction as the first choice for its new buildings.
While wood construction had benefits, including local sourcing, a renewable resource and quick construction, architects were not familiar with how to use modern wood, he said. Mr Stanley said
the Rotorua Lakes Council was the only local government body to adopt a wood-first policy for construction.
