Big names back US forest-backed carbon credit scheme
From Microsoft to a division of Royal Dutch Shell, big companies are buying carbon credits tied to more than 1mn acres of forested land in the US, venture-backed US climate company NCX said May 26.
NCX said it has created the largest forest carbon project by acreage in the Lower 48 states. Among the early participants are Microsoft, Shell’s environmental products division and sustainable consulting firm South Pole.
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Zack Parisa, the founder of NCX, said the project puts carbon on the same footing as timber.
“NCX identifies forested acres that are likely to be harvested and rewards landowners that keep them growing,” he said. “It’s a solution that connects landowners with net-zero pioneers to create climate impact with unprecedented scale and transparency.”
The first project for NCX involves 1.17mn acres of forested land spread across 10 different states.
South Pole is already involved globally in the carbon credit market, signing a deal earlier this month with Mitsubishi Corp to study ways to generate and sell carbon credits derived from carbon removal technologies such as carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS).
The technology can be supported by developing and selling carbon credits, giving developers a source of revenues and companies like Mitsubishi a means of decarbonising their operations. Mitsubishi said it had been working on several projects in the field of CO2 mineralisation, and would examine the feasibility of commercialisation with South Pole by the end of this year.
NCX recently raised $20mn in Series A financing led by Time Ventures, the venture fund of Marc Benioff. The Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund also invested, along with NCX's seed investors Union Square Ventures and Version One Ventures. NCX said enrollment in its next cycle would open and close on June 8, inviting interested landowners and carbon credit buyers to contact the group.