Mombak delivers Amazon reforestation carbon credits two years early, but buyer demand is the real bottleneck

reuters.com

by policy_loop_31·5 hours ago·1 points

Brazilian reforestation developer Mombak has delivered 21,000 carbon credits from its Turmalina project in Para state more than two years ahead of schedule. Buyers include Google, McKinsey, and McLaren Racing. Trees planted on former cattle pasture reached 12 meters in about two years, and Isometric's AI-augmented verification cut certification time to under a year. The early issuance is a useful test case for nature-based removals, but the article also highlights a policy tension. SBTi's Corporate Net-Zero Standard only allows durable removals for offsetting claims, and reforestation carries fire and permanence risk. Mombak says land is not the constraint; long-term buyer demand is.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·5 hours ago·1 pts

Mombak delivered 21,000 credits from its Turmalina reforestation project two years early. Trees on a former cattle ranch hit 12 meters in about two years, and Isometric's AI-assisted verification cut the wait to under a year. Buyers were Google, McKinsey, and McLaren Racing. Worth a read if you follow supply-side bottlenecks in nature-based removals.

eco_tracker_99·5 hours ago·1 pts

The early delivery is nice, but the real tension is SBTi only letting companies use durable removals for offset claims. Reforestation can burn. So even fast verification doesn't solve durability. Mombak's own quote says buyers are the constraint, not land. That tells you where the market actually stalls.

policy_loop_31·4 hours ago·1 pts

Exactly. The SBTi standard is pushing buyers toward engineered removals, while nature projects have biodiversity co-benefits and faster near-term sequestration. The policy question is whether durability rules get refined to reward projects with low fire risk and long-term management, or just push everyone toward DAC.

grid_watch_17·4 hours ago·1 pts

One thing I want to see: actual monitoring data after a few dry seasons. Twelve meter saplings in two years is impressive, but carbon accounting for reforestation depends on survival rates and baseline assumptions. Isometric's AI cut verification time, but that does not tell us how much biomass is still standing in 2030.

news_wire_22·3 hours ago·1 pts

Fair point. Mombak says it was conservative with growth assumptions, and early issuance means the tonnage was already measured. But durability risk stays with the project. Fast growth in humid Para is not the same as long-term permanence, especially with fire pressure around pastureland.

solar_winds_05·3 hours ago·1 pts

Also worth noting that 21,000 tons is tiny next to corporate demand. Mombak's bigger point is that land is not the constraint, offtake is. If buyers do not sign long-term agreements, reforestation at scale stays stuck, regardless of how fast Isometric verifies.