RESERVAS VOTORANTIM ANNOUNCES FIRST PROJECT DESIGN OF UNPRECEDENTED CARBON CREDIT METHODOLOGY IN ATLANTIC FOREST

Named PES Carbonflor (C+), the conservation-based mechanism is the first one to calculate  forest carbon credits in the biome. Announcement is part of NY Climate Week agenda

Legado das Águas, the largest Brazilian private reserve in Atlantic Forest, was chosen for the first project design with the potential to generate 1.7 million C+ credits in 100 years.

NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Reservas Votorantim, the green economy firm owned by Brazilian giant Votorantim holding, announces the first project design of PES Carbonflor ? an unprecedented conservation-based carbon credits methodology in the Atlantic Forest. The announcement is part of the New York Climate Week agenda.

Unlike other models applied in Brazil so far, based on the avoided deforestation method, the PES Carbonflor, developed in partnership with the environmental consultancy ECCON Soluções Ambientais, is the first to consider the impact of climate change and generate carbon credit from forest conservation efforts. Named "Carbono Plus (C+)", the bonds generated from this calculation are equivalent to removing one ton of CO² from the atmosphere.

Legado das Águas, the largest Brazilian private reserve in the Atlantic Forest, was chosen for the first project design. The reserve is located in Vale do Ribeira region in São Paulo state and is under Reservas Votorantim management. The project is developed on an area of 21.745 hectares, with a first issue of 93.410 C+ credits equivalent to carbon stored for five years and a half. The territory has the potential to generate 1.7 million C+ credits, in 100 years.

The PES Carbonflor is based on the Brazilian legislation for Payment for Environmental Services (PES) ? Law 14.119/2021, which includes carbon stocks as eligible forms of compensation. The initiative has the potential to unlock the carbon market and encourage the conservation of one of the most threatened biomes in Latin America, pointed in the latest Biodiversity COP 15 in Montreal as one of the most important for enhancing atmospheric carbon sequestration while fostering environmental preservation.

 "Forests are losing biomass and biodiversity mainly as a result of changing climate patterns. This is the scenario we are looking at: the additional conservation effort in the face of climate change, which is already underway," said David Canassa, director of Reservas Votorantim. With the novel other biomes can be included in the carbon market.

The Atlantic Forest was chosen because of the importance of conserving the biome present in 17 Brazilian states, which currently has only 12.4% of its original area, according to NGO SOS Mata Atlântica. Close to big cities, the portion of the forest that remains is responsible for supplying water and regulating the microclimate, and is connected to important river basins, such as the Parnaíba, São Francisco and Paraná. In addition to being a source of subsistence for communities that live with the standing forest, the social gains of conservation, called co-benefits, are considered another factor to attest to the quality of C+ credits.

"This is an important step for us in the carbon market. The methodology has the merit of including and rewarding forest conservation actors in Brazil, as well as being an essential tool for developing the sector in the country," said Mauro Ribeiro, executive director of Votorantim.

In a transparent development process, PES Carbonflor underwent public consultation at the end of 2022, when it was reviewed and received contributions from specialists, researchers, and institutions in Brazil and abroad. "The mechanisms available internationally today do not incorporate Brazil's particularities related to legislation, biomes, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services present in conserved areas. We now present a format that can fill these gaps, helping to minimize the impacts of climate change on forests," said Yuri Rugai Marinho, partner at ECCON.

About Reservas Votorantim 
Reservas Votorantim develops nature-based solutions for the green economy. The company manages a private territory of approx. 130,000 hectares in different biomes, where it develops sustainable businesses leveraging on the concept of the multiple use of land and its biodiversity. Reservas Votorantim was founded in 2015 and is wholly owned by Votorantim S.A.

About ECCON
Founded in 2014, Eccon innovates and strengthens the environmental business and environmental consulting market in Brazil, developing technology and services for the international community, which earned it recognition as one of the main initiatives to mitigate climate change in Brazil in 2018. The company is part of relevant projects for the generation of renewable energy, reforestation, and the generation of carbon credits, which places it as one of the main institutions with a positive impact in the environmental sector.

Media contacts ? NOVA PR
Luiza Freitas ? [email protected] ? 55 81 98566 1745
Mônica Nascimento ? [email protected] ? 55 11 99608 0669

SOURCE Reservas Votorantim