Peatland Code Registry

The UK Land Carbon Registry and Registry Guidance

Image: Sphagnum pulchrum © Norrie Russell

Peatland Code Registry

Peatland Code projects are hosted on the UK Land Carbon Registry alongside Woodland Carbon Code projects.  

The UK Peatland Code Registry is the Peatland Code’s electronic database that stores and publicly displays data about the status of Projects and ownership and use of Carbon Units. Managed by IHS Markit now a part of S&P Global, it records transactions and provides a public and transparent picture of UK-based Carbon Units.  All Peatland Code Projects and Carbon Units must be recorded on the Peatland Code Registry.

 

Registry fees

Fee type 

Fee payable by 

Payable 

Fees  

Account Opening - Project Developers/Proponents 

N/A 

N/A 

Free 

Account Opening - Corporate End Users 

Corporate End User 

Account Holder 

Prior to account opening 

£400 businesses/ 

£200 NGOs 

Account Opening - Traders or Retail Aggregators 

Trader or Retail Aggregator Account Holder 

Prior to account opening 

£750 

Annual Account Management - Traders or Retail Aggregators 

Trader or Retail Aggregator Account Holder 

Annually on the anniversary of account opening 

£750 

PIU Issuance 

Project developer 

At validation 

£0.05 per unit 

WCC/PC Levy 

Project developer 

At validation 

£0.05 per unit 

PIU to PCU Conversion 

Project developer 

At each verification 

Minimum fee £100, plus £0.05/unit above 2,000 units 

Reinstating Units Assigned or Retired in Error 

Account holder who instigated the assignment or retirement 

As required 

£90 for up to 10 blocks of credits 

 

Accounts on the UK Land Carbon Registry

There are five types of accounts. All accounts are public on the UK Land Carbon Registry:

  • Project Developer accounts for organisations/individuals that own or manage projects, issue Pending Issuance Units or Woodland/Peatland Carbon Units and transfer units to corporate end users, retail aggregators or traders or assign/retire them on behalf of their clients
  • Project Proponent accounts for organisations/ individuals that own projects but do not manage their own project or issue the Pending Issuance Units or Woodland/Peatland Carbon Units in the registry. A project developer can transfer units to the project proponents of the projects they have listed, or a project’s units can be directly listed in the project proponent’s account. Project proponents can transfer units to corporate end users, retail aggregators or traders or assign/retire them on behalf of buyers.
  • Buyer accounts for organisations which buy carbon credits from Woodland Carbon Code/Peatland Code projects for their own use or for their clients; this includes:
    • Corporate End User accounts for those who are ‘buying to use’ and can receive Pending Issuance Units (to use/retire once verified) or Woodland/Peatland Carbon Units (which can be used/retired immediately). It is not possible to sell on any unused units.
    • Trading accounts for those who are ‘buying to sell on’ and can receive Pending Issuance Units or Woodland/Peatland Carbon Units and assign/retire them on behalf of their clients or transfer them upon sale to other market participants. However, trading account holders must be registered and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to carry out a regulated activity under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or appropriate, equivalent local regulatory authority. See the Financial Services Register.
      • For companies not registered and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, a Retail Aggregator account gives limited functionality. Retail aggregators who are buying on behalf of their corporate end user clients can receive Pending Issuance Units or Woodland//Peatland Carbon Units from a project developer or project proponent and assign or retire them immediately on behalf of their ‘end user’ clients. Assigned units can be transferred into the account of ‘end user’ clients as appropriate.
      • Individuals cannot hold a buyer account. An individual can only buy verified Woodland/Peatland Carbon Units to retire immediately – they could buy direct from the project developer or from someone with a retail aggregator/ trading account, who can ‘retire’ the units on their behalf making clear the reason (e.g. ‘Retired in 2020 on behalf of Mr Smith to compensate for his March 2019 household emissions’).

 

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