For some time now, the carbon topic has been spreading across different media and today it is one of the most important topics for companies in all sectors, the financial market and governments. Recently, Decree No. 11,075, dated May 19, 2022, was published, initiating carbon pricing in Brazil.
Currently, carbon is the celebrity of the periodic table! If you are curious and type the word carbon into a search engine, you will find countless articles, business reports and professional opportunities for specialists and businesses. After all, carbon has become currency.
I believe that many people already know why we should act to avoid emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), a group of gases in which carbon is a protagonist. Therefore, more and more companies have announced ambitious goals to announce the reduction and, in the long term, the end of GHG emissions.
However, the much-publicized reduction in emissions is something different from removing carbon from the atmosphere, although they are two sides of the same coin when we refer to climate urgency. And here is the question: how is it possible to remove carbon from the atmosphere?
The answer is simple and refers to simple biology, the one we learn at school. Basically, we have three major carbon sinks: oceans, terrestrial ecosystems (regenerative agriculture, forests, savannas, steppes and other vegetation formations, including all plant, environment and soil interactions) and wetlands. If these are options, then conserving and restoring them is the right way to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
We know that restoring ecosystems has a high cost, but neither does removing carbon from the atmosphere. Furthermore, when we restore ecosystems we are going beyond carbon. It is at this moment that the biodiversity agenda becomes present and it is clear how both overlap.
There are several emissions compensation programs that use forest restoration as a strategy to achieve this end. Restoration in itself already contributes to the reestablishment of biodiversity, by adding several species of trees that enable interactions with fauna, providing food and shelter. These are the positive consequences of policies adopted by companies to support the reduction or removal of carbon from the environment.
An example of this is the Mata Viva® Compensation Program, which throughout its history has already planted 1.3 million seedlings and restored 750 hectares. The compensation program also aims to restore habitats where endangered species are found. It is always important to remember that the reduction in quantity and quality of the environment is one of the main threat pressures for the conservation of species. And, in light of all this, I leave here a provocation: how about going beyond carbon and starting to consider forest restoration as part of company strategy?
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