The two codes in brief
| Woodland Carbon Code | Peatland Code | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Scottish Forestry, on behalf of the UK, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments | IUCN UK Peatland Programme |
| Uzsākts | 2011; versija 3,0 no 2025. gada 1. augusta | 2015; versija 2 2023. gadā, versija 2,1 2024. gada novembrī |
| What a verified unit is | Tonna CO2e, ko no gaisa piesaistījis jauns mežs | Tonna CO2e emisiju, kas ietaupīta, atjaunojot bojātu kūdrāju |
| Pending unit | Pending Issuance Unit (PIU) | Pending Issuance Unit (PIU) |
| Verified unit | Woodland Carbon Unit (WCU) | Peatland Carbon Unit (PCU) |
| Registry | The UK Land Carbon Registry, shared by both codes since 2020 | |
Woodland units are removals: growing trees take CO2 out of the air. Peatland units are mostly avoided emissions: damaged peat releases carbon, and rewetting it stops that. The difference matters for net zero claims, as our post on offsets versus removals explains.
Pending units versus verified units
Trees take decades to grow, so most of what is on sale is a promise. Under the Woodland Carbon Code:
- Pending Issuance Unit ir solījums nākotnē piegādāt Woodland Carbon Unit, pamatojoties uz prognozēto pieaugumu. Tas nav garantēts, un to nevar izmantot, lai ziņotu par savām emisijām. Tas ļauj plānot nākotnes emisiju kompensēšanu un apgalvot, ka atbalstāt mežu ierīkošanu.
- Woodland Carbon Unit ir tonna CO2e, kas ir piesaistīta un neatkarīgi verificēta. To var izmantot, lai ziņotu par Apvienotajā Karalistē radītām emisijām, kad tā reģistrā ir dzēsta uz jūsu vārda.
Projects are verified at year 5 and at least every ten years after that. When a woodland passes, some of its pending units convert into verified units. Each project puts 20% of its verified units into a shared buffer that covers losses from fire, disease or failure, which is why verified units are described as guaranteed. The Peatland Code works the same way: verification five years after restoration and at least every ten years after that.
Verified units are scarce. From the sales reported to it, the Woodland Carbon Code estimates that over 99% of woodland units sold were Pending Issuance Units, and at least 99% of Peatland Code units too. If you need to report against this year's emissions, ask any seller exactly which kind of unit you would be buying.
What they cost
There is no set price. The Woodland Carbon Code publishes average reported prices from a small number of voluntary responses:
- Woodland Pending Issuance Units: a volume-weighted average of £28.32 in 2025, up from £26.85 in 2024.
- Peatland Pending Issuance Units: an average of £39.57 in 2025, from a small sample influenced by three large deals.
- Verified units: not enough sales yet to publish an average for either code.
Treat these as a guide only. Price varies with the project, the vintage (when the units are expected to be verified) and the serial number.
Aprēķina piemērs
Say an office uses 60,000 kWh of gas a year for heating. At the 2026 government factor that is 10.94 tonnes CO2e of Scope 1. To compensate for that one year with UK woodland, you would need 11 verified Woodland Carbon Units, retired in your name, because one unit is one tonne.
Pending units wouldn't do: they can't be reported against this year's emissions. And either way, the 10.94 tonnes stays in your reported Scope 1. Replacing the boiler with a heat pump when it is due cuts the emissions themselves, which is what a Carbon Reduction Plan is looking for.
Kā tās norādīt
The government's Environmental Reporting Guidelines say to report your gross emissions, and, if you buy units, to show a net figure as well as, never instead of, the gross one. Woodland Carbon Units go on their own line, separate from overseas carbon credits, with:
- the tonnes of CO2e per year;
- the project name or ID, with a link to its documentation;
- the date the units were retired, with a link to the registry's proof of retirement.
The guidelines explain that Woodland Carbon Units are not termed offsets or carbon credits, because, like all domestic projects, they don't meet every aspect of international additionality rules. That doesn't make them inappropriate to buy; it is about how the UK counts its national emissions. The Woodland Carbon Code also notes that corresponding adjustments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement are not applied to its units, and that they can't be used in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
What you can say
Abos kodeksos publicēti formulējumu piemēri, un uz visu, ko sakāt patērētājiem, attiecas Konkurences un tirgus iestādes (CMA) Green Claims Code. Īsumā:
- Gaidāmās vienības: norādiet, ka esat tās iegādājušies, no kura projekta un kad paredzēta to verifikācija. Neapgalvojiet, ka tās kompensē vai līdzsvaro jūsu pašreizējās emisijas.
- Verificētas vienības: norādiet, cik daudz, no kāda projekta, par kura gada Apvienotās Karalistes emisijām, kopā ar saiti uz reģistru.
- Jebkurā gadījumā: sāciet ar emisijām, ko esat izmērījuši un samazinājuši, un nesauciet uzņēmumu par oglekļa neitrālu, pamatojoties uz tām. Mūsu rakstā par neto nulli un oglekļa neitralitāti paskaidrots, kāpēc.
Par kredītu kvalitāti kopumā skatiet mūsu ceļvedi par oglekļa kompensēšanu uzņēmumiem. Ja jums svarīgie projekti ir jūsu pašu piegādes ķēdē, mūsu rakstā par iekšējo kompensēšanu (insetting) un kompensēšanu aplūkots šis ceļš.
How Carbon Recycling helps
Carbon Recycling uzrāda jūsu bruto 1., 2. un 3. tvēruma emisijas ar valdības konversijas faktoriem, lai jūs precīzi zinātu, par cik tonnām ir runa, pirms apsverat jebkādas vienības. Tas nekad neatskaita vienības no jūsu skaitļiem, un tā oglekļa emisiju samazināšanas plāns parāda samazinājumus salīdzinājumā ar bāzes līmeni. Mēs nepārdodam un nestarpniecējam Woodland Carbon Code vai Peatland Code vienības.