Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to creating a plan for both (1) new, and (2) existing, forests, and all tree species, that enables the UK forestry industry to (a) measure, and (b) value, carbon for owners, in order to (i) enhance and develop management of existing forestry, and (ii) encourage and incentivise the planting of new trees; and what assessment they have made of whether this could reduce the need for state support in the form of planting grants.

The Government recognises the need to unlock more private sector investment as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and HMG Green Finance Strategy. We have committed to raising at least £500 million in private finance every year by 2027 to support nature recovery in England, which will finance projects including woodland creation. The Government also supports the use of blended finance models to mobilise private investment alongside Government grants. This month, the Government launched the Big Nature Impact Fund which blends Defra grants with private investment finance for nature-based projects selling ecosystem services, including woodland creation and peatland restoration.

The Government supported the development of the Woodland Carbon Code, launched in 2011, to create a mechanism to allow landowners to sell woodland carbon. A total of 1,640 projects were registered under the Woodland Carbon Code across the UK by the end of June 2022, covering around 61 thousand hectares of woodland and projected to sequester 19.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over their lifetime. The Code provides a project and carbon registry, as well as carbon projection tools and protocols for measuring carbon in all types of woodland.

In March 2022, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority published a call for evidence on the role of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme as a potential long-term market for both engineered and nature-based greenhouse gas removals. The call for evidence included questions regarding what impacts or opportunities this might present for the Woodland Carbon Code. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme Authority will publish a response in due course.