Carbon Removal Startup Mombak Launches $100M Reforestation Project

Mombak rolled out a $100 million reforestation project in the Amazon rainforest for carbon removal. While the main goal is to remove carbon from the atmosphere, it also has other important benefits.

Restoring native species will improve biodiversity and soil quality. The project also aims to generate economic opportunities for the local community.

Mombak’s Reforestation Project

The reforestation project will plant 60 native Brazilian tree species on degraded pastureland. The project protects the trees forever, ensuring they are not cut down for timber. Reforestation projects need to ensure that trees store atmospheric carbon dioxide forever.

Mombak employs a diverse mix of experts in various fields. This includes scientific research, forestry, technology, and finance.

Mombak’s founders are Peter Fernandez and Gabriel Silva. Peter was the former CEO of Brazil’s first technology unicorn (99). Gabriel Silva was the CFO of Brazil’s Nubank.

The reforestation project of Mombak has several high-profile investors. These include Bain Capital Partnership Strategies, Byers Capital, and Union Square Ventures.

Every aspect of the project, such as selecting land and plant species will use innovative technology to optimize results. The project will use drones to measure carbon baselines. It also uses satellite imagery and bioacoustic sensors to check biodiversity.

For the project, Mombak has partnered with non-profit organization Conservation International. They specialize in areas like carbon accounting, community engagement, and conservation design.

Permanent Carbon Sequestration

The world’s mission to achieve 2050 net zero emissions will need sustainable carbon removal strategies. Current carbon emissions rates are too high.

Hence, it is no longer enough to reduce carbon emissions. It is necessary to remove existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as well.

One of the most effective carbon removal solutions is large-scale reforestation.

Compared to other carbon removal methods, it is easier and cheaper to put in place. They also generate high-quality carbon credits. This is because most reforestation projects offer permanent carbon sequestration.

The market for carbon credits has been quite favorable recently. This has increased the number of reforestation projects worldwide.

We can look to past reforestation projects to judge the potential of new ones. There are similar reforestation projects that have been around for decades.

One such example is the 20-year old Peugeot-ONF Forest Carbon Sink project. It is in the northwestern Mato Grosso state.

The project reforested 2000 hectares of degraded pasture land on the São Nicolau Farm. It has, to date, sequestered 394,000 metric tons of CO2 (equal to taking off 85,000 cars from the road every year).

The reduction in CO2 from the Verra-certified project generates carbon credits. They use Pachama, an online marketplace to trade carbon credits.