By Fabio Teixeira and Rodrigo Viga Gaier
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petrobras and the country’s development bank BNDES have partnered up to create a program to finance forest restoration initiatives in the Amazon region, the partners said on Monday.
Under the ProFloresta+ program, Petrobras will launch tenders to buy carbon credits from restoration projects. Winning bidders will be eligible for low-interest loans from BNDES to set up projects.
In the pilot phase, the program will generate around 450 million reais ($78.45 million) in investments in restoration, leading to the replanting of around 15,000 hectares (37,065 acres) of forest, the companies said during a joint event.
In this first phase, Petrobras expects to sign long-term contracts with as many as 15 firms that would participate in a tender set to happen in July.
“We’ll open the door for green entrepreneurs to obtain subsidized credit,” said Petrobras’ Chief Executive Magda Chambriard, adding that through the tender the oil firm will set the benchmark price for carbon credits from restoration projects in Brazil.
Carbon credits are tradable permits that allow the owner to emit certain amounts of greenhouse gases. Each credit permits the emission of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or the equivalent in other types of greenhouse gases.
Petrobras started buying carbon credits in 2023, when it announced it would use them to offset carbon emissions from its premium gasoline, Gasolina Podium.
($1 = 5.7359 reais)
(Reporting by Fabio Teixeira and Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Editing by Richard Chang)
