Google and McKinsey Buy 320,000 Tonnes of Carbon Removal Credits from Brazil Silvopasture Project

Google and McKinsey have agreed to buy 320,000 metric tonnes of carbon removal credits over 10 years from Working Trees, a Brazil-based silvopasture project backed by the Symbiosis Coalition. The deal supports restoring 8,700 hectares of degraded cattle pasture in the Amazon and Cerrado regions, part of a wider 50,000-hectare effort that combines trees, grazing, and timber income. The purchase is an offtake agreement, meaning the carbon has not been removed yet. The project's climate value depends on how tree and soil carbon are measured, how additionality is proven, and whether carbon stays stored despite fire, drought, or land-use changes. Working Trees reports planting about 450,000 trees across 2,167 hectares with 18 partner farmers, but those figures are not independently verified carbon removal. The deal also connects to Brazil's emerging regulated carbon market. While this is a voluntary transaction, the country's new SBCE framework could shape future verification standards and buyer expectations for Brazilian carbon credits.