Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 3 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported call for the registration of peatland restoration projects for carbon contracts, how many hectares of degraded peatland it anticipates the carbon contracts pilot will restore, and how many tonnes of CO2e reductions it estimates this restoration will deliver.
Carbon Contracts are to be piloted as part of the Peatland ACTON programme. All projects will be required to meet Peatland ACTION quality criteria. Scottish Government has not undertaken modelling to estimate the exact impact of the Carbon Contracts pilot on levels of peatland restoration and CO2 emissions reductions. The pilot itself will play a key role in assessing the potential impact of the Carbon Contracts mechanism on rates of peatland restoration.