Farmers and land managers across England are encouraged to apply for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme by 9th of July, ahead of the next auction which will take place online between 26th of July and 1st of August.
£10m will be available from the scheme’s £50m pot for farmers and land managers to create new woodlands to help tackle the effects of climate change.
This announcement follows the success of the third auction which closed on 1 November 2020 and saw 31 contracts offered by the Forestry Commission, to help stimulate proposals for the creation of 615 hectares of new woodland specifically to help combat climate change.
Sir William Worsley, Chair of the Forestry Commission, commented on the announcement: “The Guarantee is a unique offering from the Forestry Commission as it provides land managers with long term support for creating new woodlands, based on the amount of carbon they capture.
“The success from the previous auctions demonstrates how this long-term commitment has been well received within the sector and is just one of the ways we are working towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
“This pioneering scheme could be the perfect fit for many farmers and land managers looking to help tackle the climate and nature crises now upon us.
“If you want to plant this winter, now is the time to submit your application ahead of the auction in July.”
The Guarantee provides land managers with new tree planting projects 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. This provides an additional long-term income from their woodlands.
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 forecast and verify the carbon they are capturing and can sell in future.
The government has also announced an extended deadline to the Local Authority Treescapes Fund.
More information about the Woodland Carbon Guarantee is available on the UK Government website.
