Belém — The forest canopy outside Belém is becoming a testing ground for corporate climate action. In its largest-ever carbon removal deal, Google has agreed to finance the restoration of degraded Amazon land through a partnership with Mombak, a Brazilian startup replanting native forests to lock carbon back into the soil.
The agreement will offset 200,000 metric tons of CO₂, quadrupling the scale of a pilot signed in 2024. It marks Google’s biggest step yet into nature-based carbon removal, as the company seeks credible ways to balance the soaring emissions from its expanding global network of AI data centers.
A shift from offsets to verifiable removals
“The most derisked technology we have to reduce carbon in the atmosphere is photosynthesis,” said Randy Spock, Google’s Head of Carbon Credits and Removal.
The company has avoided conventional REDD credits, often criticized for weak verification, instead betting on the scientific rigor of Mombak’s model — reforesting degraded pastureland with native species.
Mombak’s restoration sites will serve as living carbon sinks and biodiversity corridors, monitored with Google DeepMind’s Perch AI to measure species recovery and ecosystem health.
“We’re seeing a flight to quality,” said Gabriel Silva, Mombak’s co-founder and CEO. “Buyers now know what they’re buying — real, verifiable carbon removal.”
Setting a new bar for Big Tech climate action
The deal positions Google at the forefront of a broader recalibration across Silicon Valley, as companies confront the climate costs of power-hungry AI systems. Google’s scope 2 emissions — tied to electricity for offices and data centers — have more than tripled since 2020 to 3.1 million tons of CO₂ equivalent, according to its latest environmental report.
The company is now favoring projects with measurable permanence and ecosystem co-benefits. Mombak is the first project approved by the Symbiosis Coalition, an alliance of major buyers including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Salesforce, and McKinsey. The group has pledged to contract 20 million tons of nature-based carbon removals by 2030, under standards requiring transparent accounting, biodiversity protection, and long-term stewardship.
A market racing toward credibility
The surge in demand for verified carbon removals has reshaped the economics of forest finance. While REDD+ credits can trade for under $10 per ton, Brazil’s reforestation credits now command $50–$100 per ton. The premium reflects not only the cost of restoration but also the credibility of long-term monitoring and independent verification.
“There’s far more demand than supply,” Silva said. “Companies are getting more efficient, but right now the priority is integrity.”
Brazil’s forest leadership ahead of COP30
The announcement lands just weeks before COP30, where Brazil will host global leaders under the banner of the “Forest COP.” President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration has made forest protection central to its climate diplomacy, launching the Tropical Forests Forever Facility with Norway and Indonesia, capitalized at $5 billion to channel financing toward tropical conservation.
By anchoring its carbon removal strategy in Brazil, Google joins a wave of private investors turning forest restoration into climate infrastructure. The move also reinforces Brazil’s emerging position as a hub for high-quality carbon projects, governed by rigorous science and community accountability.
A glimpse of the next carbon economy
For Big Tech, the Amazon is no longer just a symbol of climate urgency — it is becoming a portfolio asset class for verified removals. Google’s partnership with Mombak bridges technology and nature, combining AI-driven monitoring with on-the-ground reforestation.
If successful, the model could set a global precedent for how corporations approach carbon neutrality — not through avoidance, but through measurable restoration. As COP30 begins, Brazil’s forests are again at the center of the world’s climate equation — and this time, they’re backed by code, capital, and canopy.
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