Venture unites cellulose sector, 6 Brazilian giants and Neoenergia joint venture; companies want to replicate the model in other biomes
O Muçununga Project intends to issue around 500 thousand carbon credits in 40 years with the restoration of 1,242 hectares of Atlantic Forest in 8 municipalities in southern Bahia. Since the introduction of the first seedling, in July 2025, more than 500 hectares have already been planted.
The operation is controlled by Biomesa company specialized in ecosystem regeneration whose shareholders are Itaú, Marfrig, Rabobank, Santander, Suzano and Vale. It is the 1st joint movement of large companies operating in Brazil towards the carbon credits market. Carbon2Nature Brasil is also part of the initiative, joint venture of Neoenergia, controlled by the Spanish group Iberdrola.
The project has already introduced 105 native species in areas distributed across Belmonte, Eunápolis, Guaratinga, Itagimirim, Itapebi, Mascote, Potiraguá and Santa Luzia.
The project brings together 320 areas of 1 to 20 hectares around Veracel’s eucalyptus plantations; in the image, excerpt from Muçununga on July 16, 2026
The companies hope to issue the first credits in 2029, when the first generation of revenue should come in from the carbon removal audit. The corporate arrangement also includes Veracel Celulose, owner of the land that was ceded to the project for 100 years. The company also provides technical expertise in restoration, heritage surveillance and forest protection..
Although the certificates have not yet been negotiated, Biomas and Carbon2Nature aim purchase calls from Symbiosis Coalition. Formed by Google, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce, the initiative has committed to contracting up to 20 million nature-based carbon removal credits by 2030.
The venture had an initial investment of R$15 million from shareholders and received approval in May for financing of R$87.2 million from BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), via the Climate Fund.
“Every reforestation carbon project is very similar to an infrastructure project; 70%, 80%, sometimes 90% of the capital you will use in the first 3 years. But the revenues start to come after the 3rd year, which is when you make the 1st measurement of tree growth, the 1st generation of credit, but it is very small. This forest actually starts to perform, with significant volume, from the 10th to the 20th year, which is when you make the biggest catches”, says Marcelo Pereira, director of Forest Restoration and Carbon Projects at Biomas.
Comparison shows the area at the first planting, on July 1, 2025, and 1 year later, in July 2026
HOW CREDITS WORK
The carbon credit is a tradable certificate. In general, 1 credit represents 1 ton of greenhouse gases that were no longer emitted or removed from the atmosphere, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent.
In Muçununga, the certificates will correspond to the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by the growth of trees. The quantity needs to be measured and verified by an independent company before credits are issued. Companies and organizations can buy these certificates voluntarily to offset part of their emissions or finance climate actions. Credits, however, must complement the direct reduction of emissions, not replace it.
There is no single price for carbon credits. The value varies depending on the methodology, duration of removal, project risk and associated social and environmental benefits. Forest sector executives heard by the Poder360 estimate prices of US$30 to US$70 per credit in the voluntary market. More optimistic projections indicate values close to US$100.
HIGH INTEGRITY CREDITS
The Biomas and Carbon2Nature project aims to issue so-called high integrity credits or premium creditsmore valued by the market because they demonstrate, among other criteria, that the removal would not be carried out without revenue from credits, that the carbon will be stored for the long term and that there will be no double counting. This type of certificate reaches the highest prices on the international market and is the main target of big techs.
The project also brings together attributes considered by the Standards CCB (Climate, Community and Biodiversity):
- species diversity – use of 105 species native to the Atlantic Forest. According to a survey cited by BNDES, around 1% of native restoration projects aimed at the carbon market use more than 10 species;
- social impact – prior diagnosis and actions aimed at 14 rural communities close to restoration areas.
“In addition to the CCB seals, what is capable of differentiating the project is what you go to the ground and carry out, which your buyers are able to perceive and you are able to measure and deliver that result. All this ecological part is included in this package, to add value so that I can sell a premium credit in the market”says Marcelo Pereira.
Biomas and Carbon2Nature operate in the voluntary market, in which the purchase of credits is not determined by law. Brazil created the market regulated by law 15,042 of 2024, but the system is still being implemented. The Ministry of Finance estimates that it will be fully operational in 2030.
Although the project’s 320 planting polygons are not all physically connected, they form a mosaic that uses the ecological concept of “Stepping Stones” (or ecological stepping stones). These fragments function as “islands” that allow genetic connection between different areas of the Atlantic Forest, preventing biodiversity from becoming isolated and dying.
EXPANSION TO OTHER BIOMES
The Muçununga Project is the first major restoration project by Biomas and Carbon2Nature, but the companies are already planning new initiatives in other Brazilian ecosystems.
While advancing in the South of Bahia, Biomas is preparing its first investment in the Amazon region, still in the planning phase, in addition to new restoration projects in the Atlantic Forest.
Me and the joint venture Neoenergia brings together experience from more than 20 carbon removal projects in the Spanish regulated market and is expected to soon announce a new venture to restore mangroves in southern Brazil, in addition to monitoring opportunities in the Amazon and Cerrado.
“We evaluate decarbonization and forest planting projects also with agricultural production. Our project base is 80% ARR projects [Aflorestamento, Reflorestamento e Revegetação] and 20% of other opportunities involving agricultural production or Blue Carbon [carbono capturado por ecossistemas costeiros e marinhos]“it says Lucas FontesCarbon Projects Engineer at Carbon2Nature.
BRAZIL’S POTENTIAL
The assessment in the cultivated tree sector is that initiatives such as the Muçununga Project pave the way for attracting capital for ecological restoration. In addition to Biomas, companies such as Mombak and re.green – which have signed partnerships with Nestlé, Vivo and Novo Nordisk – are already prominently active in the segment.
Pereira also highlights the legal and regulatory stability in access to land when compared to other countries and continents, with a consolidated system of land due diligence, titles and guarantees.
“Investors are very concerned about risk, and we have a lot of know-how, but they are also very concerned about performance, because both things influence returns. We have a condition in Brazil that is different from anywhere in the world. There is a stability that makes Brazil the best place for investment to land with security from risks, but also with security of performance because I have the knowledge to produce forest, store carbon and protect this forest over 100 years here”says Pereira.
Biomas’ mission, says the director, is to take advantage of knowledge from decades of studying the Atlantic Forest to create the ecological conditions for forests to develop on their own.
“Our life is a 400-meter race and the race on this piece of land here is a 40 km marathon. I need to create the conditions for this forest to do the 40 km marathon, but I will no longer be here to see the marathon. I will have given the conditions of species, soil fertility, the technique that I will use for this marathon to happen, but at some point I will stop intervening”, says Marcelo Pereira
The journalist traveled at the invitation of Different (Brazilian Tree Industry).
Source: https://www.poder360.com.br/poder-sustentavel/projeto-na-bahia-mira-500-mil-creditos-de-carbono-em-40-anos/
