By Simon Jessop
LONDON (Reuters) -The Brazilian state of Piaui will issue carbon credits in return for action to combat deforestation, it said on Tuesday, adding momentum to other regional projects to help protect the country’s rainforest.
Brazil is striving to maintain ambition to curb emissions as it prepares to host the next round of global climate talks in the Amazonian city of Belem in November.
Unlike traditional forest protection projects proposed by private landowners, Piaui is focusing on public sector efforts that include government and local communities and cover a much bigger area to try to avoid simply displacing the location of deforestation.
Similar projects, known as jurisdictional, are under development in the states of Tocantins and Para.
Under an agreement announced on Tuesday, Investe Piaui, the state’s mixed economy company, has signed a deal with investment firm Silvania that will provide 10-20 million reais ($3.69 million) to help develop the programme.
Brazilian firm Systemica will also help with the technical aspects of the programme and Silvania will act as an offtaker of the credits. Environmental services company Geonoma will lead the programme’s development.
The group said that, if Piaui cuts deforestation by 10% year-on-year, it could generate more than 20 million credits by 2030 to sell to companies and countries to help them meet their own emission reduction targets.
“Through Investe Piaui and with Silvania’s support, we will not only protect our forests but also create sustainable opportunities for our communities,” the state’s Governor Rafael Fonteles said in a statement.
Carbon credits have in some cases failed to deliver the environmental benefits they claimed, but they could become increasingly important as political will for climate action ebbs and governments focus on short-term costs, despite record-breaking temperatures and other extreme weather that scientists have linked to human activity.
The European Union last week for the first time proposed an EU climate target that will allow countries to use carbon credits from developing nations to meet a limited share of their emissions goal.
($1 = 5.4207 reais)
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Barbara Lewis)
