Funding to provide long-term income for woodland creation
Last month, the government announced that £10 million is being made available for farmers and land managers to create new woodlands to help tackle the effects of climate change through the Woodland Carbon Guarantee, which provides new income in the form of long-term payments for the amount of carbon a new woodland will store.
Farmers and land managers across England are encouraged to apply for the scheme by 24 April, ahead of the fifth auction which will take place online between 9 and 15 May.
Administered by the Forestry Commission, the £50 million scheme will help accelerate woodland planting rates and help permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Following an online auction process, successful bidders will be offered the option to sell woodland carbon in the form of Woodland Carbon Units – a financial value given to each tonne of carbon stored – to the government over 35 years at a guaranteed price protected against inflation.
Before applying for the Guarantee, land managers will need to have registered with the Woodland Carbon Code, which provides the tools and information required to verify and record the carbon they are capturing and can sell in future.
Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/woodland-carbon-guarantee
Registration: https://www.woodlandcarboncode.org.uk/