Carbon
Sequestration

Summary

The way that land is used and managed has a crucial part to play in reaching net zero. Large amounts of carbon are stored in soils and vegetation globally, and land can be either a source or a sink of greenhouse gas emissions depending on how it is managed. 

Managing land in a way that supports carbon sequestration can also bring a number of so-called 'co-benefits', including increasing biodiversity, natural flood management, air and water quality improvement, soil erosion protection and green spaces for recreation.

Key Outputs

Exploring opportunities to enhance the amount of carbon sequestered by restoring and creating new natural habitats is a workstream of the Net Zero Route Map and Action Plan (NZRMAP) that has been endorsed by the partners of the OLJC (formerly the FOP). The Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership (OLNP) is supporting on delivery of this work. It brings together key stakeholders in the land use and biodiversity sector. The Oxfordshire local authorities are collaborating through the LNP to support development of activities to enhance carbon sequestration.

Current progress includes:

• Ongoing engagement with businesses who are in a position to invest in land-based carbon sequestration.
• The OLNP's Nature Finance Strategy sets out the creation of a natural capital investment framework to deliver environmental enhancement projects in Oxfordshire.
• The FOP (now called the OLJC) allocated funding to the OLNP to build an area-based insetting investment model and an offset market, to finance nature-based solutions in Oxfordshire. Area-based insetting refers to a strategy where environmental or nature-based projects are implemented in the same geographic area where a company operates or has an impact, as a way for businesses and organisations to invest in and support sustainability initiatives locally.

Current Status

The Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership and the Oxfordshire Leaders Joint Committee are continuing to work together to engage stakeholders and expand this work.

Future plans include:

• Ongoing engagement with businesses who are in a position to invest in land-based carbon sequestration.
• Develop more nature-based projects in the right places that are ready for investment (based on the model set out in the Nature Finance Strategy).
• Explore the establishment of an Oxfordshire Environmental Fund that would provide capital for nature-based projects.

Further Information

• Read the Net Zero Route Map and Action Plan.
• Find out more about the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership.

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