Caledonian Climate has approximately 7,000 hectares collectively of peatland restoration projects in the pipeline with clients for 2024-25 in Scotland, many of which will probably be eligible for generating biodiversity credits, an executive has said.

Landowners are resetting their expectations on carbon, with implications for biodiversity, said Freddie Ingleby, managing director of consultancy Caledonian Climate.

“I think it would be fairly safe to assume that a majority of projects would be eligible for demonstrating some sort of [biodiversity] uplift,” Ingleby told Carbon Pulse.

“There’s a pump priming at the moment. There is massive opportunity for biodiversity uplift and crediting.”

His comments follow the UK Peatland Code saying it is likely to enable the generation of voluntary biodiversity credits, in combination with carbon credits, under its standards from 2025.

Developers are already buying small areas of land for voluntary biodiversity uplift in Scotland, although these are more to try to demonstrate corporate credibility than to engage with the nascent biodiversity markets, he said.

Caledonian Climate has completed projects totalling over 1,500 ha during 2024 so far. These initiatives are forecast to reduce emissions by over 2,500 tonnes of CO2-equivalent gases per year.

The Peatland Code is likely to include a monitoring, reporting, and verification option for biodiversity credits in Version 3.0, which is expected in the second quarter of 2025, the International Union for Conservation of Nature UK Peatland Programme said last month.

Backed by the UK government, the Peatland Code offers the UK’s only official peatland carbon units, which can be purchased and retired by companies to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

“We are over the moon that this is now being formally looked at,” Ingleby said.

“There’s a great push from landowners, towards developers, as to what’s going on with biodiversity. Now it’s starting to get to the point where advisors like ourselves can provide a bit more clarity.”

“The real challenge for landholders is knowing what the right route forwards is. We’re a big advocate of clarity being provided … because a lot of these landowners are not particularly cash rich. These biodiversity elements can cost an amount of money.”

Around 20,000 ha of peatland restoration could happen in Scotland with funding this year, but private capital is needed due to the absence of public financing, he said.

“There is will from the land-owning community of Scotland to deliver projects at scale and with the speed that’s necessary.”

CreditNature has won a contract from the Scottish government to establish a biodiversity credits market. The work underway on biodiversity credits in the UK Peatland Code is separate from that of CreditNature, due to the unique characteristics of peatland, Ingleby said.

The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) announced funding last year to develop biodiversity crediting for woodland creation and peatland restoration in Scotland, across four pilots, by Scottish Forestry and IUCN UK Peatland Programme.

London-based investor Foresight is considering preparing sites in Scotland covering up to 6,880 ha of land collectively for the generation of biodiversity credits, using non-profit Wallacea Trust’s methodology, Carbon Pulse reported in March.

By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com

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