Carbon fixing that works for farm tenants and landlords

A collaborative approach between tenants and landlords could help both parties share in the benefits of new income streams from land-based carbon fixing projects.

Speaking on the release of a new guidance document, Tenant Farming Commissioner, Dr Bob McIntosh said that current holdings legislation and conditions attached to the Carbon Codes meant that tenants could seldom gain any significant direct benefit from carbon trading without the agreement of their landlord

But he said that similarly, landlords were often limited in their ability to resume land for projects which removed carbon from the atmosphere - such as peatland restoration and woodland planting - without the agreement of the tenant.

Howeve,r the latest guide points to an approach which could allow both tenants and landlords to benefit from the carbon credit market while avoiding some of the pitfalls.

With the value of traded carbon credits expected to grow from a figure of around £224 million in 2018 to over £75bn by 2050, McIntosh said there was ample incentive for the parties to get together to explore the possibility of entering into a contractual agreement which enabled a project to proceed in a way that benefited both parties.

He said the Scottish Government’s net zero by 2045 target had sharpened attention on the capacity of land and land management activities to lock up carbon in the soil or in vegetation growing on the land.

“Government grants are used to encourage activities such as woodland creation and peatland restoration and the ability to trade carbon credits is providing another incentive to landowners and managers.”

Under the current circumstances, the guide recommends that an agreement is reached between tenants and landlords as to who will lead on delivering the project and how responsibilities, costs and incomes would be shared.

“Careful consideration of the conditions attached to the codes is required to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of both parties are established and that the agreement is robust enough to meet the code conditions and to deal with future changes in landlord or tenant or in the event that the project doesn’t deliver the anticipated carbon benefits,” the codes states.

“If agreement can be reached on all points, it is strongly recommended that the parties enter into a legal contract that binds both parties to respect the agreements made.”

McIntosh said that voluntary standards were currently in place covering peatland restoration and woodland creation and this was what the interim guide covered – but he added that other Codes were likely to emerge for other approaches such as soil carbon enhancement and hedgerow creation.

But the TFC also warned anyone considering such a project that entering any carbon credit scheme was a long-term commitment. And, as disengagement part way through could have severe consequences, the implications relating to change of ownership of land over the course of a project, and risks from natural events like storms or floods, which could diminish expected benefits needed to be taken into account.