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Carbon offset: Fears tree plant schemes could price out farmers

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Some farmers fear valuable farmland could be lost as firms try to offset their carbon footprints, instead of being safeguarded for agriculture

A group of MPs have warned farmers in Wales could soon be "priced out" by rich corporations buying up land for carbon offsetting.

The Welsh Affairs Committee now wants a register of all Welsh land bought by big companies for planting trees.

It also questioned whether Welsh government safeguards on tree planting schemes are "sufficiently strong".

The Welsh government said it was "committed to supporting the Welsh farming industry."

The cross-party committee of Welsh MPs said it "opposes any attempts to 'game the system' by investing in viable farming land purely in order to offset carbon emissions."

While environmental policy is a devolved matter, the committee's report "strongly encourages" the Welsh government to consider whether it has sufficiently strong safeguards in place for tree planting schemes.

trees planted on hillsides in mid Wales
Although the trees are being planted to offset carbon emissions, there are concerns the loss of farmland harms rural communities

The report asked that companies investing in carbon offsetting be required to "have a substantial and credible emission reductions programme in place and are not using offsetting schemes to avoid reducing emissions."

The committee also heard that farmers felt "the economics are stacked against the family farm", with figures from 2020 showing around a fifth of Welsh farms made an "income of less than zero, with an average income of £26,000 per farm."

'Culture and language at risk'

Chair, Stephen Crabb MP, said the agricultural sector was "vital" for communities across Wales, with culture and language also at risk if the sector declined.

"An enormous 90% of Welsh land is used for farming, and comparably with England, the farming sector employs more people and contributes more to the Welsh economy.

"A significant amount of farming land is being lost to carbon offset projects which is being sold at such a high price to wealthy companies that farmers, many of whom are already struggling financially, cannot compete with.

"While offsets could be a useful tool in meeting net zero, there must be adequate safeguards in place to avoid greenwashing by companies relying on offsets to avoid difficult decisions to tackle emissions at source."

Sheep and trees
The report also looked at concerns that Welsh producers could be "undermined" by post-Brexit trade agreements

The report also looked at concerns Welsh producers could be "undermined" if the UK market was "flooded with cheaper imports" due to post-Brexit Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

On FTAs, the reports recommends "cultural impact" should be added the assessment process, in addition to increased collaboration with the devolved governments.

It also recommends UK government publish a statement on the impact of FTAs on the agricultural sector in Wales.

'Keen to avoid outside interests'

A Welsh government spokesperson said family farms "are a crucial part of rural communities and play an important role in providing employment and maintaining the social fabric of rural areas".

"We need to plant 86 million trees by the end of this decade if we are to meet NetZero carbon emissions by 2050.

"We are keen to avoid outside interests buying up land and we want to work with Welsh farmers and landowners to achieve this.

"We will now consider the report in detail."