CLYDE CLIMATE FOREST
Project Value: £107 million Investment Type: Development and capital Location: Glasgow City Region Landowner: Various (public, private & third sector) Timescale: 2021-2032 Status: Feasibility study and individual project development in progress. Delivery commences November 2021.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Clyde Climate Forest (CCF) aims to plant 18 million trees in Glasgow City Region over the next decade (over 9,000 hectares of new woodlands). This will increase the forest and woodland cover in the region by 3%, which is in line with Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan targets for woodland expansion in Scotland. In doing so the CCF project will significantly increase the extent of atmospheric carbon sequestration through tree growth in the region.
Additionally, the CCF will also provide many climate adaptation benefits to the region and provide a significant response to the ecological crisis. Climate adaptation benefits from tree planting will include reduced flooding impacts from storm events and reduced overheating impacts from heatwaves. The CCF will also re-connect fragmented woodland habitats thereby allowing woodland species to better survive in a changing climate and help secure the ecosystem services that healthy woodland habitats deliver to society. In this way the CCF is relevant to many of the UN’s SDGs.
trees planted by 2030 - that's 10 trees for every person in the Glasgow City Region over the next decade.
INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The Clyde Climate Forest requires funding to deliver against its targets at a regional scale. LAND: There is a need to secure land for tree planting over the next decade. This might be through incentivising landowners to plant trees or by land acquisition. TREES, PROTECTION & STEWARDSHIP: The supply, planting, protection and aftercare of the trees will require significant funding. CAPACITY: People will need to be employed to work with landowners to develop tree planting projects and a skilled workforce to deliver the woodland creation projects and necessary aftercare. INVESTOR BENEFITS: The benefits for tree planting at scale within Glasgow City Region relate to:
- Carbon Credits – the delivery of verified carbon credits through the Woodland Carbon Code that can be traded or used to attain net zero targets
- Flooding mitigation – reduced recovery costs and insurance premiums from a reduction of risk through strategic woodland creation
- Health – reduced health negative impacts, associated health care and productivity costs due to reduced climate impacts and increased physical and mental health benefits from accessible woodlands
- Inward Investment – more attractive investment location through reduced climate risk, improved environment and aesthetics from a ‘greened’ city.
STATUS UPDATE
The CCF is in an advanced development stage and are in discussion with landowners about woodland creation opportunities and local communities (in neighbourhoods with low tree cover, indices of deprivation and at risk from climate change) about tree planting opportunities. The tree planting operations will start from November 2021.
