The Forestry Commission is testing a new quality assurance scheme for tree-planting projects designed to sequester carbon.
The scheme has been launched against a background of increasing woodland carbon sequestration projects that are designed to encourage individuals and businesses to contribute to tree planting and help compensate for their carbon footprint.
Until now there have been no standards to measure carbon claims or to ensure that real benefits will accrue.
The Woodland Carbon Code, the subject of consultation earlier this year, will encourage a consistent approach to projects and provide clarity and transparency to potential customers and investors about what their contributions should achieve.
To comply, projects must be responsibly and sustainably managed to national standards; use standard methods for estimating the carbon that will be sequestered or locked up; be independently verified; and meet transparent criteria and standards to ensure that real carbon benefits are made.
Once approved, projects will appear on a national online register.
A six-month pilot phase will test the scheme on a dozen projects throughout the UK.
