Yes, UK landowners may be able to generate and sell carbon units where their land can support an eligible project and the project meets the requirements of an appropriate carbon standard.
For woodland creation, the Woodland Carbon Code provides the UK’s voluntary carbon standard for qualifying projects. A project must be registered before work begins on site and subsequently validated against the Code’s requirements, monitored and independently verified. Landowners cannot simply calculate the number of trees on their property and sell an equivalent number of carbon credits.
Once a Woodland Carbon Code project has been validated, Pending Issuance Units (PIUs) can be issued based on its predicted future carbon removal. These units can be sold but are not guaranteed and cannot be used or reported against emissions until the carbon removal has been verified.
Following successful verification, PIUs representing carbon that has actually been removed can be converted into Woodland Carbon Units (WCUs). Each WCU represents one tonne of CO2e removed from the atmosphere.
Peatland restoration projects operate in a similar way through the Peatland Code. Eligible projects can generate Pending Issuance Units representing predicted future emissions reductions, which can subsequently be converted into verified Peatland Carbon Units (PCUs). Each PCU represents one tonne of CO2e emissions savings that has been independently verified.
The commercial viability will depend on factors including the land, project costs, expected carbon benefit, funding arrangements and the price buyers are prepared to pay.
