With the urgent need to tackle climate change and the commitment for the UK to become a net zero emitter by 2050, there is an increasing opportunity for landowners who create new woodlands to receive an income based on the value of the carbon within the standing trees.
Announced in the Autumn 2018 budget, the Woodland Carbon Guarantee (WCaG), an objective in the 25 Year Environment Plan, is a £50 million scheme that aims to help accelerate woodland planting rates and develop the domestic market for woodland carbon for the permanent removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee provides landowners with the option to sell their captured carbon in the form of verified carbon credits, called Woodland Carbon Units (WCUs), to the government for a guaranteed price every 5 or 10 years up to 2055/56. The government will buy the WCUs for an agreed guaranteed price that is index-linked for the life of the contract. They are generated through verification checks carried out under the Woodland Carbon Code, which assess how the woodland has grown and therefore how much carbon dioxide has been captured.
The next Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction will take place from midday on Monday 21 November to midday on Sunday 27 November 2022. The application deadline to take part in the auction in 23:59pm on Sunday 6 November. The budget available for the auction will be £10m.
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme provides an additional long-term income by providing landowners with a guaranteed price for the carbon credits, set at the level required to make the investment worthwhile. Landowners can still choose to sell the credits on the open market rather than to the government. WCUs are generated through verification checks carried out under the Woodland Carbon Code, which assess how the woodland has grown and therefore how much carbon dioxide has been captured.
In order to apply for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee, woodland creation projects will need to be registered with and managed under the Woodland Carbon Code which is the voluntary standard for UK woodland creation projects where claims are made about the carbon dioxide they sequester. The Woodland Carbon Code provides advice on how woodlands should be managed to ensure that removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is permanent, and not reversed at a future point in time. The Woodland Carbon Guarantee uses the Woodland Carbon Code to both predict how much carbon a woodland is likely to sequester and, as the trees grow, to measure and verify that the carbon has indeed been captured. For further information see the section on Eligibility Criteria on the gov.uk website.
The key steps to apply for WCaG are:
- Identify land for planting. WCaG applications must be linked to a specific project and area(s) of land so a first step is to identify the fields or land on which the woodland is to be created.
- Decide what is going to be planted. Applying for WCaG doesn’t require a final woodland design plan but the applicant needs to have a reasonable idea of the type of woodland they wish to establish and how it will be managed (thin or no-thin, clear-fell or continuous cover etc) in order to calculate how much carbon it will sequester.
- Calculate how much carbon the woodland will sequester. The Woodland Carbon Code provides tools for calculating how much carbon could be sequestered by the woodland.
- Register for the Woodland Carbon Code through their website. It is also worth considering whether a project developer who is experienced in carbon projects is required. They will already have an account on the registry, to help landowners through this process.
- Apply for WCaG by Sunday 6 November if you want to take part in the next auction. Auctions are held approximately every six months.
Click here for more information about the Woodland Carbon Guarantee.
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