New scheme to boost tree-planting announced

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has launched a £50 million scheme to help boost tree-planting rates in the fight against climate change.

The new Woodland Carbon Guarantee, announced alongside the Forestry Commission, will encourage farmers and landowners to plant more trees and create new woodland in return for payments as those trees grow. It will provide land managers in England with the long-term financial income they need to invest in carbon sequestration - the process by which trees lock up and store carbon from the atmosphere.

Successful participants will be offered the option to sell Woodland Carbon Units to the government over 35 years at a guaranteed price set by auction, providing new income for land managers who help businesses compensate for their carbon emissions.

Zac Goldsmith, Forestry and Climate Adaptation Minister, said: “Woodland creation is an excellent way to help combat the effects of climate change. By supporting farmers and land managers who decide to invest in tree-planting, we are making sure we tackle climate change through nature-based solutions and – as part of our 25 Year Environment Plan - help leave the environment in a better state than we found it. The Woodland Carbon Guarantee means that now - more than ever - there is no reason to delay planting trees.”