Mariana Durao, Bloomberg News
RIO
EbnergiesNet.com 09 07 2023
Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras is making its much-anticipated debut in the voluntary carbon market, announcing that it has purchased credits from a project dedicated to saving the Amazon rainforest.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, acquired credits that amount to the equivalent to 175,000 tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions, it said in a statement Tuesday. The purchase corresponds to 570 hectares (1,408 acres) of preserved forest — an area the size of about 800 soccer fields, the company said.
Petrobras has been expected to make its entrance into carbon credit markets as part of a broader decarbonization effort outlined in its most recent five-year strategic plan, which predicts it will invest as much as $120 million in carbon credit acquisitions between 2023 and 2027.
The amount is likely to be increased for the next five-year plan, Mauricio Tolmasquim, the company’s energy transition director, said in an interview.
Brazil is currently planning to create a cap on carbon dioxide emissions for large polluting companies as part of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s attempt to kick off a green transition in Latin America’s largest economy.
Petrobras regards the creation of a regulated carbon market as positive, as long as its emission targets are economically viable, Tolmasquim said.
“I assume that the targets will be reasonable and feasible to meet. It must be done in an economically wise way, so that companies can adapt, and allow offsets,” he said.
In the voluntary market, Petrobras will prioritize the purchase of high-quality, natural-based credits generated in Brazil, according to the statement. The first purchase involved Envira Amazonia, a project that aims to protect the rainforest and help communities within it.
Read More: Petrobras Captures Carbon to Ramp Up Gas, and Calls It Green
Petrobras has set a goal of reducing its total absolute emissions by 30% by 2030. The use of carbon credits to offset emissions is meant to work alongside other elements of its decarbonization push, a strategy that includes the reduction of operations-related emissions, renewable energy projects, biorefining and carbon capture and storage.
In 2022, the company tapped the green financing market with a $1.25 billion sustainability-linked loan as it sought to court environmentally-conscious investors.
bloomberg.com 09 06 2023
