I live in Phoenix, and have seen the tree planting.

There is a lot more that could be done that is not done. From my eyes, it looks more like, there are X number of trees that need to be planted and they are planted to fulfill those goals.

There is little in the way of consideration for sunlight patterns, rainwater patterns, microclimates, planting methods, etc.

While imperfect sounding, just getting trees in the ground and then moving the goalposts to constantly increase the number, is a huge step forward. I think once in the ground, nature will take over and adapt.