Marshall is supportive of a policy that seeks to ensure that carbon offsets required in order to achieve net zero, are directed locally and should also seek to support other eco-system functions too.

Marshall understands that offsetting embodied carbon from construction of Cambridge East could facilitate the creation of significant areas of new habitat locally, for example large scale woodland planting, or the enhancement of existing habitats such fenland and soils. This could create multiple benefits such as enhanced biodiversity resources and new areas for recreation.

However, in order to allow this to occur, Marshall understand that a planning mechanism will likely need to be developed so that land that could support such opportunity has been identified and made available without land ownership and other potential constraints. There will also need to be consideration paid to how a local carbon offset scheme is accredited. Marshall would be delighted to work with GCSP on scoping out such a scheme.

Marshall does, however, query recent consultation from GCSP which states that offsetting through afforestation should exclude existing farmland. In order to achieve carbon offsetting through local sequestration large areas of land will be needed and so ruling out farmland may be premature. Confirmation of this is therefore sought, in particular as to whether this includes all farmland, or farmland which is of a certain quality or currently operational.