Our impact across the UK

  • 40,012 hectares of new woodland created 

  • 13.6 million tonnes of planned carbon dioxide removal 

  • 806 projects validated to the code

Annual statistics

You can view official annual statistics about the Woodland Carbon Code up to 31 March 2024 in Forest Research’s forestry statistics 2024

Statistics from earlier years are also available.

Interim statistics

Our interim statistics provide data on Woodland Carbon Code projects up to 30 June 2025. 

Number of projects on UK Land Carbon Registry 

Projects can be validated/verified individually or as part of a group. This table shows the number of projects validated or verified, whether they were administered individually or as part of a group. 

Number of projectsEnglandWalesScotlandNorthern IrelandUK

Under development

710186394891,379
Validated only1505341816637
Verified at year 552111051169
Total validated2026452317806
All projects9122509171062,185

 

Area of projects on UK Land Carbon Registry 

Area (hectares)EnglandWalesScotlandNorthern IrelandUK

Under development

9,0321,71441,94680253,494
Validated only3,1071,47928,98219833,766
Verified at year 58321925,21396,246
Total validated3,9391,67134,19520740,012
All projects12,9713,38576,1411,00993,506

 

Projected carbon sequestration of projects 

Projected sequestration (million tCO2e)EnglandWalesScotlandNorthern IrelandUK

Under development

3.60.611.20.315.7
Validated only1.30.59.10.111.0
Verified at year 50.40.12.00.0032.6
Total validated1.80.611.20.113.6
All projects5.31.222.40.429.3

These figures include both the carbon units which can be sold and those which are allocated to the buffer.

 

Size of validated and verified projects, number of projects by country 

A graph which shows that England has the largest proportion of projects less than five hectares and Scotland has the largest proportion of projects which are over 501 hectares.

 

Species mix of validated and verified projects, by area and country 

A graph which shows that Scotland has the largest proportion of projects which are over 80% conifer and England and Norther Ireland have the largest proportion of projects which are over 80% broadleaf.

 

Management of validated and verified projects, by area and country

A graph which shows that Northern Ireland has the largest proportion of projects which are solely or mainly continuous cover forestry or no thin. Scotland has both the largest proportions of projects which are solely or mainly clearfell or solely or mainly minimum intervention.

 

Map of projects, by status 

A map of the UK showing dots with validated and verified projects.

 

Number of Woodland Carbon Units available on UK Land Carbon Registry

Type of unitAvailable for saleAlready soldLandowners 'growing their own' unitsRetired Woodland Carbon UnitsBuffer unitsTotal

Pending Issuance Units

6,438,0003,457,00081,00002,525,00012,501,000
Woodland Carbon Units8003,5001,1004,6002,30012,300

One carbon unit equals one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent

Available for sale - units for sale by a project developer or retail aggregator

Already sold - units which have been transferred from a project developer to a corporate buyer’s account or have been assigned to a corporate buyer (if Pending Issuance Units)

Landowners growing their own units - units owned by organisations planning to use them against emissions within their own company/organisational boundaries (insetting)

Retired Woodland Carbon Units - verified credits which are 'retired' or taken out of use by the final user

Buffer units - units which are put aside and stored in a shared buffer pool in case of any future loss of Woodland Carbon Units

Pending Issuance Units - validated units of carbon dioxide equivalent which are projected to be delivered/sequestered in future.

Woodland Carbon Units - verified units of actual sequestered carbon dioxide equivalent.

Conversion of units

Woodlands validated to the Woodland Carbon Code will sequester carbon dioxide over the next 100 years.

The chart below shows the projected annual conversion rate of Pending Issuance Units to Woodland Carbon Units over that period (black line) and the cumulative sequestration of validated projects over that time (bars).

As more projects are validated, more units will be available and the conversion rate will increase. Verified Woodland Carbon Units and buffer units are not included on the chart.

A graph which shows that conversions from Pending Issuance Units to Woodland Carbon Units is forecast to peak in 2045.

Mapping information

You can view mapping information about Woodland Carbon Code projects in: 

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