Rio de Janeiro – Oil giant Petrobras said it debuted in the voluntary carbon credit market by acquiring 175,000 tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions. That amount corresponds to 570 hectares (1,408 acres) of conserved rainforest, or equal to 800 soccer fields.
The carbon offsets were purchased from the Envira Amazonia project based in the municipality of Feijó, Acre, which works to preserve the Amazon rainforest and improve the lives of the communities residing in the region. This decision comes as part of the company’s broader decarbonization effort, which was outlined in its most recent five-year strategic plan that predicts that Petrobras will invest up to USD120 million in carbon credit acquisitions between 2023 and 2027.
Petrobras is using carbon credit purchases as part of its broader climate-centric strategy, which includes reducing emissions from its operations, investing in renewable energy projects, implementing biorefining processes, and exploring carbon capture and storage technologies.
According to Petrobras, the guidelines for the next Strategic Plan 2024-28, currently under development, favor the search for profitable opportunities to expand investment in low carbon, aiming for 6% to 15% of the company’s global investment.
“We want to make an incisive contribution to Brazil’s energy transition. With each stride toward the use of clean sources, carbon capture and storage, and investment in decarbonization, we’re creating a future in which the economy thrives in harmony with the planet,” Petrobras CEO Jean Paul Prates said in a statement.
Petrobras believes in the carbon market as a vital instrument in fighting climate change, he added. “We know Brazil has immense potential to lead this segment precisely for being one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world,” he argued.
Carbon market
The carbon market is a tool for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions through the trade of carbon credits. These are generated by initiatives that prevent these gases from being emitted or remove them. Thus, the credits work as a currency, and companies can buy them to offset operational emissions.
Translation by Guilherme Miranda
