Google Buys Carbon Disappearance Loans From Brazilian Startups, Joins Microsoft

Tree planting efforts carried out by Cooking in Brazil (photo: x @cppinvestments)

JAKARTA Google, a unit from Alphabet Inc, for the first time agreed to buy a natural-based carbon removal credit from a startup in Brazil, which is the technology company's first step in carbon projects in the South American country.

Google will buy 50,000 tonnes of carbon removal credit metric by 2030 from Mangom, a company that works by purchasing degraded land from farmers and breeders or partnering with them to replant native species in the Amazon rainforest.

The move follows in the footsteps of another US tech giant, Microsoft, who last year struck a deal to buy up to 1.5 million carbon loans from the reshuffle. Although Google and the reshuffle did not disclose details of the value of the deal, in 2023 the reshuffle sold its credit to McLaren Racing at an average price of more than 50 US dollars (IDR 750 thousand) per ton.

The Chief Technology Officer of the Overhaul, Dan Harburg, said that Google's participation in this project provides a positive signal for the natural-based carbon removal industry. "Support from Google shows great trust in this sector and is expected to trigger more deals in the future," he said in an interview.

The announcement comes at the same time as a company meeting and authorities taking place this month in New York for the annual Climate Week. Previously, Meta, Facebook's parent company, also agreed to purchase up to 3.9 million carbon loans from the forestry arm of Brazilian investment bank, BTG Pactual.

Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Salesforce are founders of Symbiosis Coalition, which is committed to buying up to 20 million tons of natural-based carbon removal credit by 2030.

Carbon credits allow companies to redeem their greenhouse gas emissions by paying for measures that reduce emissions elsewhere to meet the company's climate targets. Each credit represents a reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide emissions. However, the carbon credit market has come under criticism from organizations like Greenpeace, which states that this scheme allows companies to continue producing greenhouse gas emissions.