BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (BTG Pactual TIG) has signed a long-term contract with Meta for the delivery of 1.3m nature-based carbon removal credits, with options for the delivery of an additional 2.6m nature-based carbon removal credits, through 2038 as part of its Latin America reforestation strategy, which is designed to support climate change mitigation alongside benefits for biodiversity and communities.
The deal represents Meta’s largest carbon removal transaction from a single project to date and is one of the largest of its kind. It also marks Meta’s first significant engagement in carbon removal in Brazil.
The credits will be delivered from BTG Pactual TIG’s $1bn (€898bn) reforestation and restoration strategy in Latin America, for which Conservation International serves as impact adviser to ensure the strategy enhances biodiversity and supports inclusive and equitable community development.
The strategy focuses on the conservation, restoration and planting of deforested and degraded properties in selected regions in Latin America. This includes the Cerrado biome in Brazil, one of the most biodiverse seasonally dry ecosystems in the world.
Approximately half of the Cerrado’s land has already been converted to other uses and the biome continues to face high rates of deforestation. The strategy also focuses on delivering community benefits through increased rural employment, rural community development and the development of the bioeconomy.
Blair Swedeen, global head of net zero and sustainability at Meta, said: “BTG Pactual TIG and Conservation International, in their visionary collaboration, are setting a new bar for how sustainable forestry operations can deliver restoration of degraded land, while providing important economic opportunities for local communities.
“We are proud to support the bold impact strategy that TIG and CI have developed, which aligns with our own goals for our net zero programme and for carbon markets broadly.”
Mark Wishnie, chief sustainability officer of BTG Pactual TIG and head of the firm’s reforestation strategy, said: “The due diligence, thought leadership and technology that Meta has brought to this transaction has been extraordinary. The team has developed a clear and rigorous approach to carbon removal, and we are extremely pleased to help support their ambition on this front. Meta is among a small group of companies that have pressed forward to develop an approach that will not only underpin the integrity of its own efforts, but support the development of a high-quality carbon market more broadly.”
Dr M Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International, added that with this investment, “Meta is sending a message to the rest of the private sector: a sustainable future need not be austere; it can be abundant”
Sanjayan said: “We commend Meta for their leadership, including their commitment to improving measurement of forest cover, which is crucial for carbon market integrity. BTG Pactual TIG continues to prove that forest restoration can be a boon to both the environment and local communities. The success of this initiative is evidence that economic production and environmental protection can be mutually reinforcing, rather than mutually exclusive.”
With Conservation International’s support, BTG Pactual TIG’s strategy aims to protect and restore approximately 135,000 hectares (more than 330,000 acres) of natural forests in deforested landscapes. The strategy also seeks to plant millions of trees in sustainably managed commercial tree farms, independently certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards, on another approximately 135,000 hectares of previously deforested and degraded land.
To date, BTG Pactual TIG has invested in 37,000 hectares, planted more than seven million seedlings, and initiated restoration of approximately 2,600 hectares of natural forest. More than 300 plant and animal species have been identified on the strategy’s first investment, where a new 400-metre-wide riparian buffer is expected to create a nearly 5km corridor to a large neighboring natural forest, ultimately connecting nearly 10,000 hectares of natural habitat.
The generation of carbon credits forms part of the reforestation strategy’s climate impact, in addition to managing the tree farms on long rotations to store more carbon and produce large diameter logs that can be used for long-lived products. The carbon projects, which have not yet been registered, will seek to meet or exceed leading carbon accounting standards, BTG Pactual said.
Meta is making its forest monitoring technology available to help establish a rigorous baseline of existing forest cover for BTG Pactual TIG’s Latin America reforestation strategy. This includes Meta’s work with World Resources Institute to map tree canopy height at a 1 metre resolution, allowing the detection of single trees at a global scale. All canopy height data and AI models are free and publicly available, including those used for this deal.
The transaction is part of Meta’s commitment to reaching net-zero emissions across its value chain in 2030, which will largely be achieved by reducing corporate emissions. It will address any residual emissions through carbon removal, including a range of both natural and technological approaches.
The deal also reflects Meta’s commitment to delivering social impact in the carbon removal projects it supports in addition to climate and biodiversity benefits. Beyond creating new local jobs through its investment activities, BTG Pactual TIG is supporting training for local communities for opportunities to generate new income from nature-based activities in the emerging bioeconomy, such as honey production that can be supported, in part, by newly restored forests.
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