Forestry Commission
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee (WCaG) is a 50 million scheme that aims to help accelerate woodland planting rates and develop the domestic market for woodland carbon for the permanent removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It is an objective in the 25 Year Environment Plan and was announced in the autumn 2018 Budget.
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee is currently closed for applications.
What is on offer?
The WCaG gives you the option to sell captured carbon from your woodland in the form of verified carbon credits, called Woodland Carbon Units (WCUs). You can sell WCUs to the government for a guaranteed price every 5 or 10 years up to 2055 - 2056.
The government will buy the WCUs for an agreed guaranteed price that is index-linked for the life of the contract. This provides an additional long-term income from your woodland.
You can choose to sell the credits on the open market instead.
WCUs are generated through verification checks carried out under the Woodland Carbon Code (WCC), which assesses how the woodland has grown and how much carbon dioxide has been captured.
The WCaG is not a grant or a fund and it does not contribute towards the cost of woodland creation planning, establishment or early maintenance.
Find out more in our and in the more in-depth guide to .
Projects without grant support
A new category projects without grant support is available for the eighth auction for project developers who choose not to receive any grant funding from government to plant and maintain their new woodland.
These projects will have a higher, but undisclosed, reserve price at auction compared to projects that will receive grant support. The higher reserve price reflects that the upfront costs of planting are borne by the project developer and are not recovered through grants such as the England Woodland Creation Offer.
Projects can still receive Woodland Creation Planning Grant to support the design process and remain eligible for this new category.
Alongside the category for projects without grant support, the eighth auction will continue to accept applications for projects that intend to use government grant schemes. This needs to be declared on the application form, these projects will be subject to the lower reserve price of 30 per WCU.
Find out if you are eligible
The WCaG is open to land managers who are owner occupiers, tenants, landlords and licensors. You need to have control of the land and all the activities needed to meet the obligations of the WCaG for the full duration of the contract.
The WCaG application cannot include land:
- which is covered by a statutory requirement to establish or restock woodland
- which is not entirely within England
- where the applicant does not have management control for the length of the agreement and is unable to have an application countersigned by the landowner
- which is owned by public bodies
In order to apply for the WCaG, woodland creation projects will need to be registered with and managed under the WCC.
For further information see the guide to .
How to apply
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee is currently closed for applications.
To apply you must first register your project with the WCC.
Read to understand the eligibility requirements.
If you have registered and meet the other eligibility requirements, complete the WCaG application form and return it to:
wcag@forestrycommission.gov.uk
Woodland Carbon Guarantee
Forestry Commission
620 Bristol Business Park
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol BS16 1EJ
For further advice on theWCaGor help completing the application form, email:wcag@forestrycommission.gov.uk.
How it works
There are 5 stages to the Woodland Carbon Guarantee process.
You can read for further information.
1. Pre-application
Before applying for the WCaG your project will need to be registered with the WCC. The WCC provides tools for calculating how much carbon will be sequestered by your woodland. You can download the Carbon Calculation Spreadsheet and Guidance from the WCC website.
2. Application
Once you have calculated how much carbon your woodland will produce and registered it with the WCC, you can submit a Woodland Carbon Guarantee application form.
3. Auction
The eighth auction will take place in September 2024. Further details about the eighth auction, including a list of eligible tree species, can be found in the .
If the pro