The UK Space Agency has backed an Edinburgh AI consultancy in its quest to develop a machine learning monitoring and reporting tool to enhance woodland creation.
New Gradient built an automated digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) tool to enhance the speed, accuracy and scale of woodland data collection, using earth observation technologies.
Woodland creation sits at the heart of the UK’s net zero ambitions, with forests already removing around 17.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) each year – around 4% of national greenhouse gas emissions.
The UK government has targets to reach 16.5% tree and woodland cover by 2050 and plans to plant 30,000 hectares of new woodlands annually – estimated to save up to 12 million tCO2e in total.
Delivering this ambition will require substantial private investment to help bridge an estimated £1.8 billion funding gap. The Woodland Carbon Code, the UK’s government-backed framework, provides a critical mechanism for attracting this investment, enabling businesses to fund verified woodland projects in exchange for high-integrity carbon credits.
While more than 93,000 hectares of UK woodland are already registered under the framework, progress and scalability are constrained by outdated monitoring approaches. Infrequent, manual woodland surveys deliver imprecise measurements of carbon and biodiversity outcomes, delaying project verification and reducing investor confidence in the integrity and value of carbon credits generated.
New Gradient’s AI solution addresses this issue through automated digital Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (dMRV) – enhancing the speed, accuracy and scale of woodland data collection, while providing richer insights into tree health, carbon value and biodiversity gains.
Ewan McMillan, founder of New Gradient, said: “Our solution represents a breakthrough for Woodland Carbon Code verification. By replacing expensive, time-consuming manual field surveys with automated dMRV across a broader range of performance indicators, we are putting landowners in a far stronger position to attract investment into these critical woodland projects.
“The solution also facilitates continuous monitoring, shifting verification from decade-long cycles to annual reporting. This gives investors, verifiers, and land managers near real-time visibility of woodland carbon delivery, bolstering confidence in verified woodland carbon units.”
The funding from the UKSA’s Climate Services Call forms part of a £380,000 investment to accelerate the UK’s Earth observation and climate services sectors. The programme supports businesses in transforming innovative concepts into market-ready services that advance net-zero targets and drive economic growth.