The UNFCCC has issued the first temporary Certified Emission Reductions (tCERs) to a reforestation project in Brazil that seeks to provide charcoal as fuel to the iron and steel industries, thus mitigating emissions and reducing pressure on native forests.
The project was supported by the World Bank's Prototype Carbon Fund and the BioCarbon Fund.
13 April 2012: The UNFCCC has issued the first temporary certified emission reductions (tCERs), under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), to a reforestation project in Brazil.
The Plantar Project received over four million tCERs for the establishment of 11,600 hectares of sustainably-managed tree plantations to supply vegetable carbon to the steel and iron industry. The newly forested areas will sequester carbon dioxide and provide a source for carbon-neutral charcoal, while supporting the protection of indigenous forests and biodiversity. The revenue from carbon finance will provide the iron industry with the means to use already degraded areas and preserve indigenous forests.
The project was supported by the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund and the BioCarbon Fund, and is the first of a series that is expected to be approved during the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period, as afforestation/reforestation (A/R) CDM projects can only issue credits once per commitment period, so several projects are waiting to maximize the number of credits issued during the second commitment period. [World Bank Press Release]