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Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.

Are you interested in reading more newsletters? Luckily for us Globe Climate readers, The Globe’s flagship morning news and business newsletters touch on some green topics as well. Catch up on these editions from last week, which remain top of mind while the Los Angeles fires continue to burn.

Business Brief newsletter: Wildfires put populist climate rhetoric to the test

Morning Update newsletter: An interview with Canadian climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe

Now, let’s catch you up on other news.

1. Banking: Four Canadian banks quit global banking alliance aimed at meeting climate goals
2. Wildlife: Wolves make a comeback, and face a political backlash, in Colorado’s ranching country
3. L.A. fires: Fire-ravaged Southern California braces for gusty winds and heightened wildfire risk
4. World: In Namibia, a Canadian copper company leaves a legacy of toxic waste
5. Insurance: Damage from natural disasters in Canada hit a record $8.5-billion in 2024, as industry group warns some regions may become uninsurable
6. Oil and gas: Alberta Energy Regulator lays nine charges against Imperial Oil for 2023 spill
7. From The Narwhal: From California to Gaza, Canada’s efforts – and struggles – to support global action on the environment

For this week’s deeper dive, we recap recent reporting from Ivan Semeniuk that says Canada’s plans to plant two billion trees will be best accomplished by looking close to home.

Let’s start with a reminder: The federal 2 Billion Trees Program was launched in 2021 to help Canada meet its climate objectives by planting two billion trees over a 10-year period for carbon storage.

Progress catch-up: So far, the program is not on track to meet that goal, having been hampered at the outset by the pandemic and inadequate planning, as documented in a 2023 report from Canada’s Auditor-General. But Ottawa has pressed ahead. Last November, officials said that 157 million trees had been planted while announcing funding for another 160 million.

In recent news: A new study, published in the research journal One Earth, could help make the program more effective and data driven. Conducted by the conservation group Nature United in collaboration with federal scientists and other partners, it is the most systematic attempt yet to identify the optimal locations for restoring forest cover in a way that meets the program’s climate objectives.

What to know about the study: The findings show that the best return on investment will come from spreading efforts to parts of the country where those many goals can be met in different ways. Overall, the optimal results are not to be found in the remote boreal wilderness, but in diverse pockets of land that are relatively close to the cities and towns that most Canadians call home. These are primarily places where tree cover has gradually been eliminated through two centuries of human activity.

“We want to see this program deliver on its promises, but in the best way possible so that you’re not just planting trees for the sake of planting trees,” said Megan de Graaf, a New Brunswick-based program director with Community Forests International, a not-for-profit organization that receives funding from the 2 Billion Tree initiative. “You want trees that are actually going to be meaningful and beneficial. So that takes some work.”

• One in 10 Canadians live in places susceptible to green transition disruption, report says
• Climate activists spray green paint over Amazon’s base in Davos, disrupt helicopters landings
• Can artificial intelligence help humans understand animals and reconnect with nature?
• Ottawa provides $117-million for drought resilience on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast
• Environmentalists claim ‘setback’ for species protection in B.C. port expansion case
• Winners of Nobel, World Food prizes seek new ways to grow food to meet surging global need
• Backyard chickens in Vancouver being isolated from wild birds amid H5N1 avian influenza risk
• In the U.S., Republicans can slow but not stop electric vehicles, experts say
• Hundreds of endangered sea turtles are washing ashore on India’s coast

John Rapley: As the costs of climate change rise, further economic growth might make us poorer

Claude Lavoie: Disaster costs are overwhelming private insurance. We need a national public insurer

How the California wildfires could affect insurance rates in Canada

The wildfires devastating Los Angeles will likely increase home-insurance premiums in Canada by raising the cost of reinsurance policies for providers.