>destroyed centuries ago for building things like towns, cathedrals and castles and for firewood Agree with your point entirely but also want to mention that t

>destroyed centuries ago for building things like towns, cathedrals and castles and for firewood Agree with your point entirely but also want to mention that the motivation behind not re-growing is land-clearing for reasons not stated i.e. farmland, transport infrastructure, housing. The use of wood for building materials and even firewood is carbon neutral if appropriately managed, it's those specific motivations to keep the land cleared that have led to an overall draw-down of forest cover. You can't restore cover without addressing the motivations for clearing it, and use of wood for building/heat is a bit of a red herring in that sense.