A survey of 238 landowners, conducted by nature-based carbon removal developer Arbonics reveals that 80% across Ireland, France, Lithuania, Sweden, Austria and Poland would consider afforestation on their land to earn additional income from carbon credits. However, this willingness is proving insufficient to drive action.
High upfront costs the biggest barrier
According to Arbonics, many landowners still face challenges to join the voluntary carbon market through carbon project participation. For landowners considering afforestation, the upfront investment in saplings, planting, and new forest management is substantial (starting from €2000/ha). For many family landowners, this upfront cost is difficult to justify it says, especially when income from timber harvesting can take 50-100 years to materialise.
This financial reality is also reflected in the landowners’ motivations behind joining carbon projects. When asked the primary motivating factor when considering participation, 67% said financial gain, followed by environmental impact (24%), and other reasons such as community benefits (9%).
“Afforestation comes with high upfront costs that many landowners simply can’t cover on their own,” said Lisett Luik, co-founder of Arbonics. “Carbon income plays a crucial role by helping to close the funding gap and make carbon removal on their land not only possible, but financially attractive.”
Lowering barriers ‘critical’
With more than 14 million hectares of land suitable for afforestation, lowering the barriers to entry is critical across Europe, Arbonics claims.
Even if only the land that has been abandoned or is too poor-quality for agriculture – estimated to be in the region of 1.1 million hectares – was afforested, it would still capture as much as 9.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year and balance the emissions of 1.5 million people.
“Land ownership in Europe is often fragmented, which makes it even more important to build solutions that are scalable and accessible,” said Lisett Luik, co-founder of Arbonics. “Supporting smaller landowners at scale is one of the most effective ways to accelerate afforestation and carbon removal. We need to meet them where they are at, with clear economic incentives, simple tools, and long-term support.”
Limited knowledge and awareness of solutions
Despite high interest in afforestation, 84% of landowners surveyed had not contacted a solution provider or assessed their land for carbon potential. Additionally, the survey revealed low knowledge of the carbon market, with landowners in 4 out of 5 countries rating their expertise as less than 3 out of 10 on average and only Sweden averaging an expertise score of 4 out of 10.
“The findings of this survey make one thing clear – landowners are interested in participating in the carbon market but lack knowledge and support to access it. If we want carbon markets to scale and deliver real environmental benefits, we need to prioritise knowledge-sharing and accessibility,” added Lisett Luik, co-founder of Arbonics.
