Farming News - Forestry Commission: Seventh Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction dates announced
News
Forestry Commission: Seventh Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction dates announced
Farmers and land managers across England are encouraged to apply for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme by 30 April 2023, ahead of the seventh auction which will take place online between 15-21 May 2023.
Administered by the Forestry Commission, the Woodland Carbon Guarantee is a £50 million scheme that aims to help accelerate woodland planting rates and permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. £10 million is being made available for farmers and land managers to create new woodlands to help tackle the effects of climate change and provide new income in the form of long-term payments for the amount of carbon a new woodland will store.
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. The scheme reflects the Government’s confidence in the continued growth of markets for woodland carbon, as landowners will continue to benefit from a reliable revenue stream in selling carbon on the domestic market.
Following customer feedback, the Forestry Commission have made some changes to the seventh auction which includes removal of project categories, making it easier for customers to access, and the publication of the reserve price (£30 per Woodland Carbon Unit) to give prospective applicants more confidence and clarity to apply.
Richard Stanford, Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission, said:
“Now in its seventh round, it’s encouraging that the Guarantee has continued to grow in its success, supporting the creation of 2,810 hectares of new woodland specifically to help combat the many and varied impacts of climate change by increasing tree-planting across the country.
“I strongly encourage farmers, foresters and land managers across England to submit their applications to the Guarantee ahead of the application deadline on 30 April.”
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.
This announcement follows the success of the sixth auction which closed on 27th November and saw 9 contracts offered by the Forestry Commission, to help stimulate proposals for the creation of 60 hectares of new woodland specifically to help combat climate change.
Encouraging diverse woodland types and tree species is a key factor in the government’s efforts to treble tree planting rates in England by the end of this Parliament and plant 30,000 hectares of trees across the UK per year by 2025.
Register with the Woodland Carbon Code and apply for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee here.