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 next Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction will take place from midday on Monday 15 May to midday on Sunday 21 May 2023. The application deadline to take part in the auction is 23:59 on Sunday 30 April 2023.
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee provides you with the option to sell your captured carbon in the form of verified carbon credits, called Woodland Carbon Units (WCUs), to the government for a guaranteed price every 5 or 10 years up to 2055/56. This provides an additional long-term income from your woodland. If you prefer, you can still choose to sell the credits on the open market rather than to the government. WCUs are generated through verification checks carried out under the Woodland Carbon Code, which assess how the woodland has grown and therefore how much carbon dioxide has been captured.
What is on offer?
Unlike most existing woodland creation support mechanisms the WCaG is not a grant or a fund and it does not contribute towards the cost of planning, establishment or early maintenance.
Woodland creation projects accepted into the Woodland Carbon Guarantee have the option to sell WCUs to the government every 5 or 10 years up to 2055/56. The government will buy the WCUs for an agreed guaranteed price that is index-linked for the life of the contract. You can still choose to sell the carbon credits on the open market at any time.
Find out more about the funding on offer in our and in the more in-depth guide to .
Find out if you are eligible
The WCaG is open to land managers who are owner occupiers, tenants, landlords and licensors, as long as they 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 Woodland Carbon Guarantee, woodland creation projects will need to be registered with and managed under the Woodland Carbon Code.
For further information see the guide to
How to apply
The Woodland Carbon Guarantee is open for applications. The deadline to take part in the auction is 23:59 on Sunday 30 April.
In order to apply you must first register your project with the Woodland Carbon Code. Read the guide to to understand the eligibility requirements.
If you have registered for the Woodland Carbon Code and meet the other eligibility requirements, please complete the Woodland Carbon Guarantee application form and return it to:
wcag@forestrycommission.gov.uk
Woodland Carbon Guarantee
Forestry Commission
620 Bristol Business Park
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol BS16 1EJ
You can get further advice on WCaG or help completing the application form from the Forestry Commission by emailing wcag@forestrycommission.gov.uk.
How it works
There are 5 stages to the Woodland Carbon Guarantee process. Please see for further information.
1 - Pre-application
Before applying for the Woodland Carbon Guarantee your project will need to be registered with the Woodland Carbon Code. The Woodland Carbon Code provides tools for calculating how much carbon will be sequestered by your woodland. You can download the Carbon Calculation Spreadsheet and Guidance from the Woodland Carbon Code website.
2 - Application
Once you have calculated how much carbon your woodland will produce and registered it with the Woodland Carbon Code, you can submit a Woodland Carbon Guarantee application form.
3 - Auction
Further details about how the seventh auction will operate including a list of eligible tree species that can be included within your application, can be found in the . If the project is successful at auction, then a conditional 3035-year contract is offered. An example of the sample participant contract (PDF,400 KB, 13 pages)is available for you to view.
4 - Validation
All Woodland Carbon Guarantee contract offers are conditional on securing validation under the WCC.
If you have applied for grant funding to plant your woodland, including funding from the England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) you must have an EWCO agreement in place before you begin any on site work such as fencing. Where grant funding has not been applied for you must secure regulatory consent, including an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before commencing work.
When you are awaiting the outcome of a WCaG auction, you should only start preparatory work where:
- grant funding and/or any necessary regulatory consents have been secured; and
- your project has been successfully registered with the WCC.
Please note: any preparatory work carried out in advance of the outcome of the Woodland Carbon Guarantee auction is entirely at your own risk and should not be done in reliance of success at the auction. In the event that you are not successful, you will still be bound by any obligations attached to the project, including the terms of any grant agreement/s.
At the point when your woodland is validated under the WCC, it is possible to adjust the