Can the voluntary carbon market save the Amazon?
Entrepreneurs in Brazil are betting big on planting trees
A tractor with a subsoiler loosens the earth and carves out deep holes. A dozen men follow, dropping tree seedlings into them. This industrious scene in a deforested part of the Amazon is more reminiscent of the paper-and-pulp industry than the voluntary carbon market, in which companies buy carbon credits to offset their greenhouse-gas emissions. Brazil can be to carbon removal what Saudi Arabia was to carbon production, claims Peter Fernandez of Mombak, the company that runs the project. “And I want Mombak to be the Saudi Aramco of that,” he says.
Explore more
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Rainforest rewards”
From the September 21st 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Is Uruguay too stable for its own good?
The new president must deal with serious problems with growth, education and crime
Bolsonaro’s bid to regain Brazil’s presidency may end in prison
Brazilian police have accused some of his backers of involvement not just in a coup, but in an assassination plot
The mafia’s latest bonanza: salmon heists
Fish farming is big business in Chile. Stealing fish is, too
Parlacen, a bizarre parliament, is a refuge for bent politicians
A seat in the Central American body offers immunity from prosecution
Brazil courts China as its Musk feud erupts again
Xi Jinping, China’s leader, spies a chance to draw Brazil closer
Brazil’s gangsters have been getting into politics
They want friendly officials to help them launder money