British multinational bank Standard Chartered has entered into a five-year agreement with the Brazilian State of Acre to bring high-integrity forest protection carbon credits to market, aiming to support conservation efforts in the Amazon rainforest.
Under the agreement, Standard Chartered will act as the exclusive seller of jurisdictional forest carbon credits, with up to 5 million credits expected to be issued in 2026, according to a company statement on Thursday.
Unlike project-based credits, jurisdictional credits are overseen by government entities and apply across an entire state or region, enhancing their environmental credibility.
The credits will be registered on the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) registry using its TREES methodology, which has been approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM).
Relevant: Brazil’s Piauí State And Silvania Launch Jurisdictional REDD+ Program
A total of 72% of the net proceeds from credit sales will directly benefit indigenous and local communities, funding initiatives such as sustainable farming, reforestation, and eco-tourism.
The remaining 28% will support project governance and monitoring, ensuring adherence to international standards and responsiveness to climate events.
“This arrangement provides us an effective tool in the fight for sustainable economic development,” Amarisio Freitas, Secretary of the Treasury of Acre, said.
Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer at Standard Chartered, emphasized the urgency of such initiatives: “Without deploying new market mechanisms, standing forests are unlikely to be protected.”
This partnership is one of the first of its kind between a major global bank and a sub-national government.
It supports Brazil’s broader COP30 goal to halt deforestation by 2030 and demonstrates how jurisdictional carbon finance can deliver both environmental and economic benefits.
A third-party review of Acre’s program by carbon data provider Sylvera is underway to further boost market confidence, marking the first independent assessment of its kind for a Brazilian jurisdiction.
