Google, McKinsey Strike Brazil Carbon Removal Deal With Silvopasture Project

3-line summary

• Google (Alphabet) and McKinsey signed a 10-year purchase agreement for 320,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits from a silvopasture project developed by climate-tech firm Working Trees, brokered through the Symbiosis Coalition (whose members include Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Salesforce and which aims to secure more than 20 million tons of offsets by 2030); the deal was announced Monday.
• The project converts degraded cattle-grazing land in Brazil's southeastern Amazon and Cerrado regions into mixed-species systems by planting rows of commercial timber and native tree species on existing pastureland while grazing continues; the funding covers restoration of 8,700 hectares (about 21,500 acres) of degraded or semi-degraded pasture within a larger 50,000-hectare operation.
• Working Trees said long-term purchase commitments are critical to attracting investment in such projects; the companies cited rising emissions from AI-infrastructure energy use as a driver of corporate offset demand, while Brazil's carbon market remains nascent but is drawing growing interest from investors and lenders seeking high-quality carbon-removal projects. Critics argue offsets let emitters avoid direct reduction efforts.

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