Graeme Leith

The templates are the outcome of an 18-month collaborative project led by Scottish Forestry in partnership with the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and Scottish law firms Brodies LLP, Gillespie MacAndrew and Turcan Connell.

The project also involved extensive consultation with stakeholders, including landowner representative bodies, insurance brokers, investor platforms and businesses involved in the design and delivery of carbon schemes.

The project was supported by NatureScot in collaboration with the Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, through the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland.

UK woodland creation and peatland restoration schemes are underpinned by the Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code.

The codes set out the requirements for developing projects which tackle climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or stop it from entering in the first place. Projects which meet the requirements generate carbon units, a product which landowners can sell and companies can buy to compensate for their unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions.

The new template agreements and the accompanying guidance aim to build confidence among buyers and sellers by helping them to understand the responsibilities, obligations and liabilities they should consider when buying or selling units.

The project team has produced variations of the core template agreements for use in each UK jurisdiction — Scotland, England and Wales, and Northern Ireland — reflecting the differences in property law.

Dr Vicky West, the Woodland Carbon Code’s senior development manager, said: “This collaborative project stems from a collective goal to create tools that can help diverse stakeholders to engage in the voluntary carbon market.

“We believe these template agreements will bring clarity and efficiency to the process of buying and selling carbon units. Many of the core principles in the agreements may be applicable to other nature markets too.”

Brodies partner Graeme Leith, who was lead legal adviser on the project, said: “Over the past five years, interest in buying and selling carbon units has significantly grown as landowners and investors have realised the critical role they can play in the UK’s net zero ambitions.

“In preparing robustly peer-reviewed template contracts and publishing detailed guidance for participating parties, we hope to encourage more landowners and investors to engage in woodland and peatland carbon projects across the UK.”

Garance Wood-Moulin, Peatland Code development lead for the IUCN UK Peatland Programme, added: “The collaborative FIRNS project has developed template agreements that will serve as a key resource for those interested in initiating woodland and peatland projects.

“These templates aim to simplify the complexities associated with buying and selling carbon credits, providing a robust starting point that we hope will standardise the process and make it more accessible for all.”

The template agreements and detailed guidance are now available for download on the Woodland Carbon Code website.