Brazil's Tocantins state to offer $430 million in carbon credits

14/11/2024 14:20

        A Brazilian state that straddles the frontier of the Amazon jungle is pursuing the sale of more than 2.5 billion reais ($430.16 million) in carbon credits related to forest conservation through 2030, the state government said on Thursday.
        
        Companies typically buy such credits to offset a portion of their greenhouse gas emissions in pursuit of voluntary goals to curb global warming, essentially paying for projects that cut climate pollution.
        
        Tocantins state aims to sell some 50 million carbon credits, each amounting to one metric ton of carbon sequestered by forests and other native vegetation across the state through the end of the decade, the government said in a statement.
        
        The value and number of carbon credits is contingent on the state successfully reducing deforestation, it said. The state government exclusively shared details of its planned issuance of carbon credits with Reuters ahead of the official announcement.
        
        Scientists say protection of the Amazon rainforest is vital to curbing climate change because of the vast quantity of carbon dioxide its trees absorb.
        
        Brazil's federal government announced last week that deforestation in Brazil's Amazon in the 12 months through July had fallen to the lowest level since 2015.