July 6, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

In October 2021 the UK released a report called “Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener” outlining the government’s 10-part plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. 

“The science could not be clearer,” noted the report, “by the middle of this century the world has to reduce emissions to as close to zero as possible, with the small amount of remaining emissions absorbed through natural carbon sinks like forests, and new technologies like carbon capture. If we can achieve this, global emissions of greenhouse gasses will be ‘net zero’.” 

One initiative being pursued to help achieve this goal is through carbon plantations that would sequester CO2, generate carbon credits, produce sustainable hardwood, and encourage biodiversity. 

The first of these plantations in the UK was granted approval by the Forestry Commission in late 2021. Under a new business called Carbon Plantations, backed by Aether Energy Ltd., the country’s first large-scale carbon plantation is being established across Suffolk and Norfolk counties, planted in a hybrid variety of tree called Paulownia that has the ability to absorb carbon dioxide up to seven times faster than newly-planted indigenous woodland. 

“We are acutely aware of the urgency of taking action to tackle the climate and ecological crises, and increasing tree planting is a key part of the government’s Net Zero strategy,” said Nigel Couch, managing director, Carbon Plantations.

“Farmers planting trees on their land is providing much needed diversity, and new varieties can offer exciting and progressive solutions. No other tree can sequester as much CO2 as quickly as the Paulownia, and its wood is known as the aluminum of the timber industry.”

Initial planting for the UK’s first-of-its-kind project is currently underway, with Israel-based Netafim – the global leader of sustainable precision irrigation solutions – implementing its drip irrigation technology across 134 hectares to ensure the project’s long-term stability, consistent yield, and carbon-storing capabilities. 

Couch commented, “This new hybrid variety offers huge potential benefits for biodiversity, carbon capture and UK hardwood supply. The irrigation infrastructure and consultation that Netafim has delivered is key to the success of this unique project.”

Founded in 1965, Netafim pioneered the concept of drip technology, creating a paradigm shift toward precision irrigation. Today, the company is an end-to-end solutions provider with 33 subsidiaries and 17 manufacturing sites around the world, offering bespoke irrigation and fertigation solutions to producers ranging from smallholders to large-scale ag operations in more than 110 countries. 

 “Over the last sixty years we’ve been at the forefront of sustainable agriculture and we’re excited to continue in this role by both initiating and supporting projects to help reduce and capture carbon emissions,” said John Farner, chief sustainability officer, Netafim 

Under the UK government’s strategy of generating economic opportunities connected to carbon capture as a means of achieving net-zero emissions, the trees grown on the plantation will be thinned out after a period of seven years. The harvested timber will be sold for light construction, and carbon credits will either be claimed or auctioned for corporate carbon offsetting, serving to contribute to ESG goals. All told, the project is expected to absorb 150,000 tons of CO2 over the first 10-year span of its lifetime.

Farner concluded, “We already know that our drip technology increases water and nutrient use efficiency, while increasing productivity. We are excited to partner with Carbon Plantations to transform the way we are removing carbon from the atmosphere and advancing life around the world.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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