Berlin Aims for Over a Million Trees by 2040, Cites Progress Amidst Challenges

Berlin's environmental administration asserts it is on track to meet its ambitious goal of more than doubling the city's tree population by 2040, despite facing criticism. State Secretary for Climate Protection and Environment Andreas Kraus stated that the administration has the necessary personnel and resources, working diligently to achieve the target.

"We do not measure the success of this law by how many positions I create in twelve months, but by what the end result is," Kraus told RBB-Inforadio, emphasizing a focus on outcomes rather than just staffing numbers. The immediate objective is to increase the number of trees in the city to 440,000 by 2027. Currently, Berlin has 439,318 trees. The overarching Climate Adaptation Law, adopted by the Senate last November, mandates a total of one million trees by 2040.

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We do not measure the success of this law by how many positions I create in twelve months, but by what the end result is.

However, the initiative has drawn criticism from Heinrich Strößenreuther, initiator and board member of the "BaumEntscheid" initiative. Strößenreuther has repeatedly voiced concerns that the Senate has made insufficient progress in building up the necessary personnel to manage this large-scale tree-planting effort.

Kraus acknowledged the complexity of the task, particularly in densely populated areas where the ground is heavily occupied by sewage pipes, electricity lines, and gas mains. "Bringing more green into the area, unsealing more ground, is an incredibly complex task," he explained, highlighting the logistical and engineering challenges involved in expanding green spaces amidst existing infrastructure.

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Bringing more green into the area, unsealing more ground, is an incredibly complex task.