Planting trees in trunk road areas will not offset all carbon emissions

05 September 2007

Offsetting all carbon emissions from Scottish trunk roads would require an area the size of Edinburgh to be planted with trees each year, according to a report commissioned by Transport Scotland.

The report was undertaken by TRL and Young Associates to determine the potential for carbon sequestration in the off-setting of carbon emissions from activity on the Scottish Trunk Road.

It found planting all of the available areas within the Trunk Road boundary would offset only 17% of one year of the total carbon emissions on the network, based on carbon emissions of 976,433 tonnes for 2002.

Instead an area of annual forestry planting of 24,411 Ha – an area roughly the size of the capital – would be needed for carbon sequestration. ‘The area of planting likely to be viable in the vicinity of a road scheme is likely to be small and have limited offset potential compared to the total carbon emissions associated with the construction, maintenance and operation of a scheme,’ the report states.

However, it suggests the purchase and planting of adjacent pockets of land, ‘ideally directly linked to the road corridor’, to accommodate the extra tree planting. This would have added benefits in the development of wildlife corridors. Alternatively, a planting scheme for carbon sequestration could be secured through working partners or through a ommercial operation, the report adds. The planting could be located anywhere in Scotland, the UK, or even beyond. It recommends taking steps to increase the longevity of new trees planted within the Trunk Road boundary, given the sort lifespan of trees on the network.

‘This could be through planning to ensure tree planting occurs where the likelihood of future disturbance for road improvements is low.’ Furthermore, energy and carbon audits should be considered for construction and maintenance activities on the network ‘with a view to effecting reduction in energy use and carbon emissions’.

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Planting trees in trunk road areas will not offset all carbon emissions

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