A unique scheme has been made available for farmers and land managers to create new woodlands and tackle the effects of climate change. The Woodland Carbon Guarantee is said to provide new income in the form of long-term payments for the amount of carbon new woodland will store.
Interested parties are being encouraged to apply by the 24th of April, ahead of a fifth auction that will take place online between the 9th and 15th of May 2022.
The scheme is being administered by the Forestry Commission and is worth a total of £50 million, with the aim of helping to accelerate woodland planting rates and permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Following the online auction process, successful bidders will be offered the option to sell woodland carbon in the form of Woodland Carbon Units to the Government over 35 years at a guaranteed price protected against inflation.
Before applying to the guarantee, land managers will need to have registered with the Woodland Carbon Code, which provides tools and information required to verify and record carbon capturing.
Sir William Worsley, chair of the Forestry Commission, said: “This pioneering scheme could be the perfect fit for land managers of all kinds looking for long-term income support for creating new woodlands.
“Now in its fifth round, it’s encouraging that this scheme has continued to grow in its success, resulting in the creation of 2,650 hectares of new woodland specifically to help combat the many and varied impacts of climate change.
“I strongly encourage farmers, foresters and land managers across England to submit their applications to the Guarantee ahead of the application deadline on 24 April.”
The outcome of previous auctions supported projects across England at a range of scales, including in the South West and East where tree planting has been lower in recent years. The average price of bids accepted in the fourth auction was £18.62 per woodland carbon unit.