[8] The Billion Tree Campaign was inspired by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement.
"[9] The project was launched in 2006 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco[10] and the World Agroforestry Centre-ICRAF[11] as a response to the challenges of climate change, as well as to a wider array of sustainability challenges from water supply to biodiversity loss,[12][failed verification] and achieved the initial target of planting a billion trees in 2007.
[14] In 2008, the campaign's objective was raised to 7 billion trees, a goal which was surpassed three months before its target of the climate change conference that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.
[16] The World Organization of the Scout Movement also planted trees under the campaign, in line with its mandate to study and protect nature across several countries.
[18] Felix Finkbeiner addressed the United Nations in a speech to open the International Year of Forests 2011, saying: "It is now time that we work together.
Signatories include Prince Albert II of Monaco, Gyalwang Drukpa, Patricia Espinosa in collaboration with the WWF, WCS, and BirdLife International.
[25] The 2020 World Economic Forum, held in Davos, announced the creation of the One Trillion Tree initiative platform for governments, businesses, and civil society to provide support to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2020–2030), led by UNEP and FAO.