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Deal to support forest conservation in Acre, Brazil

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Project aims to generate 5 million credits in 2026, worth

up to

$150 million

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Local communities to receive 72% of net funds from carbon

credits

By Virginia Furness

LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) has agreed

to sell millions of carbon credits aimed at protecting the

Amazon rainforest on behalf of the Brazilian state of Acre as it

looks to build out its carbon credits business and foster trust

in the nascent market, a senior banker told Reuters.

Standard Chartered's ( SCBFF ) agreement to exclusively sell forest

carbon credits generated in Acre over five years is one of the

first examples of a major international bank working with a

sub-national government in this way to support forest

conservation, the bank said.

The bank's involvement could bring legitimacy to a market

which has struggled in recent months after prosecutors in

Brazil's Para state sought to annul a similar $180 million

carbon offset scheme amid concerns about forward contracts and

local community rights.

"We are doing everything we can to ensure these are high

quality from an environmental point of view and that a credit

really does reduce a tonne of carbon," said Chris Leeds, head of

carbon markets development at the bank. "It is a very

complicated process."

The project is expected to generate up to 5 million credits

in 2026, bringing in up to $150 million.

Carbon credit projects that claim to avoid deforestation

have faced intense scrutiny in the past because of the

challenges involved in proving how many trees projects saved

from being razed.

Jurisdictional forest carbon credits are generated by

national or state-level programmes aimed at reducing emissions

from deforestation. They are designed specifically to reduce the

risk that projects overstate the carbon-reduction benefits they

claim.

Local and indigenous communities are set to receive 72% of

the net funds generated by the state and have been part of a

consultation process, the main phase of which began in May 2025.

Unlike Para's deal, Acre's is not a forward sale, Leeds

added. "There is no commitment on our part to sell the credits

today. That is the difference."

Several Brazilian states have signed agreements to protect vast

swathes of forest in return for investment including the State

of Piauí in July.