Implementing new models for conservation, restoration, and reforestation in biodiverse ecosystems.
CDR Type
Reforestation
Location
Brazil & Uruguay
Focus Areas
Assessed financial additionality through an analysis of TIG’s complex model, including a stress-test of feasibility under various carbon financing scenarios.
Validation of new project methodology (VM0047) using geospatial tools and modeling prior to credit issuance.
Conducted a feasibility assessment of project development across multiple ecoregions, leveraging a deep network of academic and field experts in South America.
In June of 2024, Microsoft signed an agreement to purchase up to 8 million tonnes of high-quality, nature-based carbon dioxide removal over 20 years from BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG), a global timberland investment management organization. This was Microsoft’s third offtake deal in Brazil in 2024, and the world’s largest known carbon dioxide removal credit transaction to date.
TIG will deliver the carbon dioxide removal credits from its $1 billion The Restoration Fund (TRF) project in Latin America, which focuses on conservation, restoration, and planting of deforested lands in critical biomes like the Cerrado in Brazil — one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world facing increasing rates of deforestation. With the global environmental nonprofit Conservation International serving as an Impact Advisor, TIG will be protecting and restoring over 330,000 acres of natural forests.
"As the largest known carbon dioxide removal credit transaction to date, our purchase from The Restoration Fund project is heralding a new era for climate action that removes carbon at scale while restoring degraded tropical forests, enhancing biodiversity, and contributing to local livelihoods."
Brian Marrs
Senior Director, Energy & Carbon Removal, Microsoft
Carbon Direct Diligence
Carbon Direct’s landscape decarbonization experts visited multiple locations in Brazil and Uruguay to evaluate TIG’s methodology and identify potential quality or delivery risks. This included visiting operational eucalyptus plantations and TRF’s first land purchase in Brazil, and prospective locations for future reforestation and conservation in Uruguay. Dr. Van Butsic, Director of Project Design at Carbon Direct and technical diligence lead for the TRF evaluation, directly conducted interviews with project staff and other experts onsite. “TIG’s project is one of the largest and most complex reforestation projects ever developed,” says Dr. Butsic. “In evaluating this project, we investigated novel scientific and economic questions, with the outcome being a greater appreciation for TIG’s massive-scale reforestation efforts and its ability to develop and execute a pragmatic carbon dioxide removal program that delivers benefits for climate, nature, and the bottom line.”
Drawing on their expertise in forest economics and ecological restoration, Dr. Butsic and team developed methods to assess the financial additionality of the project across Brazil and Uruguay. This required parsing TIG’s complex financial model between its commercial tree farms and restoration parcels, and stress-testing the feasibility of the project under various carbon finance scenarios. The team also conducted a geospatial analysis of the region to validate that eucalyptus tree farms were not a common practice, to analyze additionality.
Another key consideration in the technical diligence process was TIG’s choice of methodology. VM0047 (Verra’s Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation v1.0 methodology) was introduced in 2023 and uses an area-based approach that combines plot-based sampling, remote sensing, and dynamic performance benchmarks to test additionality and establish baselines for crediting. With this methodology untested, the Carbon Direct team focused on empirically testing it for the project using geospatial tools and modeling prior to credit issuance.
Behind the Credit
How TIG removes carbon dioxide
The TRF monitoring system that is operated 24 hours a day. Screens show live camera feeds of all of their properties, as well as weather data and wildfires in the region detected by satellite.
In collaboration with Conservation International, TIG has developed a two-fold carbon dioxide removal strategy: 1) reforestation via eucalyptus tree farms across 330,000+ acres of deforested and degraded land; and 2) restoration and conservation with native species on the remaining 330,000+ acres of deforested and degraded land.
To effectively reforest and restore these lands with minimal risks of reversal, TIG uses advanced forest management software combined with an integrated field app to track on-the-ground performance. This software captures data from dedicated plots for terrestrial plant, water, and species monitoring as a part of a holistic and proprietary ecological monitoring strategy. For the eucalyptus tree farms, TIG is also independently certified to meet Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. TIG and Conservation International are working together to ensure the strategy enhances biodiversity and community benefits across their projects in Latin America. Starting in the Cerrado biome of Brazil, TIG introduced a new wildlife corridor to connect the nearly 300 species to a neighboring forest, resulting in 10,000 hectares of continuous habitat. TIG is also working with local communities to support seed collection and native species restoration, providing collection training and long-term employment opportunities for community members. By implementing Conservation International’s Social Advancement Index, TIG will be able to record and report verifiable data on project impacts, including metrics on income, employment, and wellbeing.
“The TIG project exemplifies how reforestation and restoration can deliver millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide removal in an ecological and equitable way,” says Brian Marrs, Senior Director for Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft. “With Carbon Direct, we remain firm in our commitment to not only identify and procure from high-quality carbon dioxide removal projects, but also help scale the growing high-quality carbon market in Latin America."
What’s Next
Looking ahead, TIG and Conservation International will continue to work together to help ensure that The Restoration Fund delivers millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide removal with sustained community and ecosystem benefits.