Establishing the One Trillion Trees Interagency Council
The order creates the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council to coordinate federal participation in the World Economic Forum's global initiative to grow and conserve one trillion trees worldwide by 2030.
Establishes a wide interagency body co-chaired by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, with a sunset date of December 31, 2030, to align federal tree-growing, restoration, and conservation activities with the international initiative.
What this order does
What it orders
The order establishes the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture and including officials from more than fifteen federal departments and offices. The Council is directed to develop a strategy and tracking methodology for federal tree-growing activities, identify statutory and regulatory barriers that limit additional federal action, find opportunities to use existing authorities and appropriated funds, inform state and local and tribal officials of federal efforts, and establish a protocol for member agencies to submit regular progress reports to the Co-Chairs and OMB.
The order does not itself create new legal rights, change any agency's existing authority, or commit new funding — implementation is subject to the availability of appropriations. The Council is set to terminate automatically on December 31, 2030, and is explicitly required to remain independent from the World Economic Forum initiative it is meant to support.
Who it affects
Federal agencies whose heads sit on the Council, including the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, State, Treasury, Defense, Commerce, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, and Education, as well as EPA, OMB, and USAID. State, local, and tribal governments will receive information on federal forest management efforts.
Why it matters
Federal agencies must now fold tree-growing and conservation activities into their strategic plans and report progress to OMB and Council leadership. State, tribal, and local governments gain a formal federal point of coordination on forest and woodland efforts tied to the global one-trillion-trees goal.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The Co-Chairs convene the Council and direct its work; Vice Chairs coordinate external communications with the Initiative. Agency heads feed progress reports to the Co-Chairs, Vice Chairs, and OMB Director under a protocol the Council itself must first establish. The Council must develop a tracking methodology before meaningful progress measurement is possible. There is no enforcement mechanism beyond reporting obligations, and all activities are subject to available appropriations. The Council sunsets on December 31, 2030.
Actions and deadlines
- Establish a protocol for agency heads to submit regular progress reports to Co-Chairs, Vice Chairs, and OMB Director
- Develop and implement a strategy and tracking methodology for federal tree-growing, restoration, and conservation activities
- Identify statutory and regulatory limitations on federal action and recommend remedies
- Agency heads include Council-related activities in their respective strategic planning processes
- Council terminates and ceases operations