Microsoft has signed a deal with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) to buy up to 8 million nature-based carbon removal credits through 2043. According to MSCI Carbon Markets data, this is the largest known carbon dioxide removal credit transaction to date.
The credits will be delivered from TIG’s $1 billion reforestation and restoration strategy in Latin America, for which Conservation International serves as Impact Adviser.
The strategy focuses on the conservation, restoration, and planting of deforested and degraded properties in selected regions in Latin America, including the Cerrado biome in Brazil. It was shared that it 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 to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards, on another approximately 135,000 hectares of previously deforested and degraded land.
“Institutional investors have a critical role to play in delivering nature-based solutions at a scale that matters for climate and biodiversity. The scale of the native forest restoration and sustainable timber production that TIG seeks to deliver with our reforestation strategy is what enables a carbon removal credit transaction of this size,” commented Gerrity Lansing, Head of TIG.
“This commitment from Microsoft is proof positive that we don’t have to compromise our future for our balance sheets. We can restore degraded tropical forests and remove carbon at scale; we can mobilize private capital; and we can protect nature without abandoning economic production — enhancing our biodiversity, livelihoods, and climate all at once,” said Dr. M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International.
“This project exemplifies how reforestation and restoration can deliver carbon removal at scale while supporting local communities and restoring vital ecosystems,” said Brian Marrs, Senior Director for Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft, adding that the approach will “attract investment” to the conservation space and help scale carbon removal.