ImpactAlpha, August 25 — Nature-based solutions “could help reduce one-third of the necessary global emissions by the end of the decade, but remain grossly underfunded,” says Maria Kozloski of the Rockefeller Foundation.
The foundation this week invested $5 million in the Amazon Reforestation Fund as part of Rockefeller’s climate strategy focused on nature-based solutions and decarbonization. Canada’s Pension Plan Investment Board committed up to $30 million to the reforestation fund, which was launched in December by Brazilian carbon removal startup Mombak; the Canadian pension also invested $500,000 in Mombak.
The Amazon Reforestation fund has raised $100 million for projects that generate high-quality carbon removal credits, improve soil quality, enhance biodiversity and create local jobs.
Forest protection
Under Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, deforestation rates have plunged in the Amazon. Designating protected areas and paying forest communities to keep forests intact are among the most successful strategies for halting deforestation, according to a recent study by Conservation International.
The Reforestation Fund’s first project will plant three million trees in Northern Brazil, including more than 100 native and endangered species.
Credible carbon credits
Mombak expects to plant more than one million trees by next month and create 50 local jobs. Carbon credits generated by the project are fetching a premium price of more than $50 per ton. Mombak’s goal is “to create the world’s highest-integrity carbon projects,” says CEO Peter Fernandez. The Sao Paulo-based firm is looking to deploy $1 billion over three to five years.
