During COP26, Petrobras announced an increase of around R$ 50 million in investments in projects aimed at forest restoration of native species in Brazilian biomes. The objective of the measure, announced this Wednesday (10), is to contribute to carbon sequestration and fixation and to avoid greenhouse gas emissions.
The ad is part of the Floresta Viva program, launched by BNDES during the Forum Strengthening the Forest Agenda, held in Glasgow.
Floresta Viva will operate under the principle of pooling BNDES resources with resources from other companies. The partnership between Petrobras and BNDES will total an investment of R$ 100 million, over five years, to finance reforestation projects, through public selection and shared management.
For the operationalization of the initiative, a managing partner will be selected, through a public call, who will be responsible for the selection notice and monitoring of the projects. The first notice is expected to be released in the first half of 2022.
Petrobras’ participation in the initiative aims to expand the company’s socio-environmental investment in natural climate solutions (NCS – Natural Climate Solutions) with a focus on forest restoration. The notices will provide for environmental and social requirements for the selection of projects, which must be in line with international certification standards for possible carbon certification.
According to the BNDES’ director of Productive and Socioenvironmental Credit, Bruno Aranha, Floresta Viva will help boost the ecological restoration sector and Brazilian companies that work in the fair transition to a carbon-neutral economy.
“With this initiative, our expectation is to reforest between 16 thousand and 33 thousand hectares with native species, being able to capture around 9 million tons of equivalent CO² over the life of the projects”, stated Aranha.
The initiative is in addition to investments that Petrobras has been carrying out since 2008 in voluntary projects in the Climate line of action, through the Petrobras Socioenvironmental Program.
“Petrobras and BNDES already have extensive experience in public notices to support forest restoration and conservation projects. Floresta Viva contemplates cooperation between several agents who recognize the importance of the climate issue and who join efforts for the ecological restoration of Brazilian biomes. This partnership reinforces initiatives in natural climate solutions, enhancing their results and generating new opportunities”, highlighted the Institutional Relations and Sustainability director at Petrobras, Roberto Ardenghy.
Currently, Petrobras supports 17 projects developed in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Caatinga, totaling investments of R$ 63 million over the next three years. In addition, it will incorporate four more projects, resulting from the 2021 Public Selection, operating in mangroves and hydrographic basins that are important for the company’s operations.
