While I fully recognise the concerns, I think it's really important that we tackle this problem in a responsible way, and that we work together to find solutions. I do not support greenwashing by companies using tree planting as a way to justify their polluting methods. Now, we do have a requirement, if we are going to hit net zero by 2050—and I know he and his party think we should be reaching net zero before that—to dramatically increase our tree-planting activities: a fifteenfold increase in tree planting by the end of this decade. Now, we want Welsh farmers and Welsh landowners, to lead that. We don't want investors from outside of communities doing that, we'd much prefer that be done within our communities, and, in fairness, as soon as I began my initial exercise in the early summer on tree planting, I spotted this being a problem immediately, and have set up a group that is doing good work to look at alternative financing models to be able to keep the control and ownership locally, not disrupt local land ownership patterns, but get the finance in so that the tree-planting targets can be met. I was very pleased to see that Cefin Campbell had visited the Stump Up for Trees project in Abergavenny and was impressed by the work that they're doing. I think it's an excellent model, because it does not displace food production—it plants on unproductive land—and it's controlled and owned locally, and we are now working with them to see if that model can be scaled and replicated across the country. But there does remain, obviously, a danger that, through the power of capitalism, people able to pay more are able to outbid locals to purchase land for significant tree planting.

I've asked planning officials to look at how the planning system can enable tree planting, and whether or not we need to look at measures when there are significantly large changes in land ownership. My slight hesitation is the purpose of the tree planting exercise was to remove barriers, because farmers complain it's too difficult currently to plant trees, and I wouldn't want to unwittingly make it even more difficult. So, I think that balance does need to be struck, but I've been listening to his concerns and the concerns of others. I had a very good meeting here in Glasgow yesterday with the National Farmers Union on the subject, and I'm committed to working on a cross-party basis to see how we can work with communities to both achieve our tree-planting targets, but do it in a way that brings the communities with us.