- Growing trees capture and store atmospheric carbon. One quarter of a living tree’s weight is carbon: this remains locked safely away until the tree is either burned or decomposes.
- The UK is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, with tree cover of just 13% against a Eurozone average of 44%.
- The UK Government has acknowledged the role that trees and woods play in addressing climate change. The Read Report , published in November 2009, explicitly states the cost effectiveness of carbon sequestration by trees and provides a scenario by which the UK can lock away some 10% of its annual emissions by 2060 through the planting of 23,000 hectares annually.
- UK woodland, especially native species, provides a wide range of “ecosystem services” such as the control and condition of water supplies, mitigation of surface water flooding, provision of shade, shelter and control of pollution. As an endless source of renewable fuel, woodland plays a far greater role in the move to a low carbon economy than simple carbon sequestration by trees.
- Woodland soils are among the most carbon rich found. Transitioning land from agriculture or marginal use into woodland brings about a steady and indefinite period of carbon accumulation, irrespective of what the trees themselves are doing. In time, the soil will contain several times the amount of carbon as is found in the woody biomass.
- The requirements for a quality carbon offset are additionality, permanence, and verifiability. Woodland Carbon finances woodland creation that would not otherwise have happened. It is maintained in perpetuity (and has legal protection under the UK Forestry Act (1967)), and all projects are certified under the Government's Woodland Carbon Code, which carries a requirement for third party certification of carbon stocks.
- The UK Government's first ever carbon certification scheme, the Woodland Carbon Code, launched in July 2011, and the Woodland Trust was instrumental in developing this as part of a group of industry stakeholders led by the Forestry Commission. The Woodland Carbon Code uses a toolkit to determine expected rates of carbon sequestration. These values take account of the management regime, species mix, and local climate change impacts over the coming century, and are intended to provide a parameter range within which the subsequent independent ground truthing operates.
- The Woodland Trust has instructed PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct a Systems and Processes audit of its Woodland Carbon scheme to ensure transparency. Together with conformance with the Woodland Carbon Code, which requires projects be lodged in a publicly accessible database, we are confident that Woodland Carbon provides a high level of confidence to investors.
Find out more
Contact us to find out how Woodland Carbon can benefit your business. Call Katherine on 01476 581112 or email corporatepartnerships@woodlandtrust.org.uk.