Farmers planting new woodlands can sell the resulting carbon units to the government.

The Woodland Carbon Guarantee has £10million to help accelerate woodland planting in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide.

The Guarantee gives farmers the option to sell their captured carbon in the form of verified carbon credits, called Woodland Carbon Units, to the government for a guaranteed price every five or ten years up to 2055/56, with this price being guaranteed aginst inflation.

This provides an additional long-term income from their woodlands.

Applications are open until July 9, ahead of the next auction which will take place online between July 26 and August 1.

Sir William Worsley, chair of the Forestry Commission which is administering the scheme, said: “The Guarantee is a unique offering from the Forestry Commission as it provides land managers with long term support for creating new woodlands, based on the amount of carbon they capture.

“This pioneering scheme could be the perfect fit for many farmers and land managers looking to help tackle the climate and nature crises now upon us.

"If you want to plant this winter, now is the time to submit your application ahead of the auction in July.”

Encouraging diverse woodland types and tree species is a key factor in the Forestry Commission’s efforts to increase tree planting rates in England.

This scheme aims to achieve a varied range of projects across different locations and scales.

Before applying for the Guarantee, land managers will need to have registered with the Woodland Carbon Code, which provides the tools and information required to forecast and verify the carbon they are capturing and can sell in future.

Farmers can apply for the Guarantee here.