Rothiemurchus Estate in the Cairngorm National Park is selling carbon credits for 170 ha of woodland creation at Achnahtnich, on the open market.

The project is being run by CarbonStore, with a plan to capture 17,486 tonnes of carbon over the next 100 years with 100% of carbon credits up for sale. The woodland will also be audited by the Soil Association and is due to be validated by the Woodland Carbon Code in April, 2023.

The young woodland, lying within the north Rothiemurchus pinewoods, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the Cairngorms Special Area of Conservation. Until recently, it had been grazed sheep and cattle which CarbonStore said starved any tree seedlings of the chance to grow naturally in their indigenous region.

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Livestock have been removed from the land which the company says will allow young Scots pine, birch and juniper to establish themselves naturally, with no ploughing or cultivation involved. The Rothiemurchus Estate is also keen to implement environmental improvements across its in-hand farm and will be funding these efforts with proceeds from the carbon credit sales.

The estate is looking for offers above £25 per PIU (Pending Issuance Units) which is a ‘promise to deliver’ a tonne of CO2e in future, based on predicted sequestration. The credits are not guaranteed and cannot be used to report against UK-based emissions until verified. However, it does allow companies to plan to compensate for future emissions.

Every 10 years PIUs are audited and if successful are verified, at which point they can be used to legally offset a company’s UK-based emissions but not overseas emissions, or emissions from international aviation or shipping.

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David McCulloch, the head of CarbonStore said: “We are delighted to partner with the Rothiemurchus Estate to bring such an impressive project to the market. Our mission is to help businesses harness the ability of trees to capture the balance of unavoidably released carbon as part of their net zero strategy.

“This outstanding project fully realises that ambition. However, it goes further – it enables CarbonStore to simultaneously help combat the UK’s equally serious biodiversity crisis.”