The City of Sydney is planning a tree-planting blitz to curb urban heat. 

The city’s council is spending $377 million over the next decade to counter the effects of a warming climate by boosting tree cover.

The Greening Sydney 2030 plan details efforts to raise canopy cover from 18 per cent in 2019 to 27 per cent by 2050.

It should see about 700 trees added to parks, lanes and roads each year, boosting shade cover and reducing the city’s heat-island effect.

“We’re in the middle of a climate crisis and we are already experiencing its impacts. Dangerous heatwaves are arriving earlier, are hotter and last longer,” says Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

“Our city must adapt to the changing climate and increase its resilience to the likely impacts.”

One of the major challenges will be to encourage residents to plant trees. Private land accounts for about 60 per cent of the local government area, but currently has just 12 per cent canopy cover. 

The city council wants to lift that share by about two-thirds to 20 per cent by mid-century.

It says trees will be planted in areas that have not seen them for many years, while the City of Sydney is looking at green roofs as another potential option. 

Native tree species will be preferred in the planting blitz, but areas that need more trees may be planted with deciduous exotic species, particularly if it is better for residents’ solar panels. 

The Greening Sydney 2030 plan will be released for public comment this week. 

Separately, the NSW Government is offering free trees to anyone living in one of 33 local government areas in Greater Sydney.