Pará advances on the path to certification of carbon credits to international standards

The Management Committee of the State System on Climate Change (Coges Clima), which includes members of the National Council of Extractive Populations (CNS), the Coordination of Quilombola Associations of Pará (Malungu), and the Federation of Indigenous Peoples of Pará (Fepipa), approved, on Wednesday (8), after a three-day immersion for review and contributions, the necessary documentation for the registration request, in the ART Trees standard, so that the results of deforestation reduction in Pará effectively generate carbon credits.

The Art Trees (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions - The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard) is a global standard of environmental excellence that establishes rigorous procedures for quantification, monitoring, reporting, and verification (QMRV) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions resulting from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) actions at the jurisdictional and national scale.

The goal is to ensure that the generated carbon credits have high environmental and social integrity, ensuring transparency, permanence of results, and compliance with the environmental and social safeguards provided in international climate agreements, including adherence to the 7 Cancun safeguards - a set of policies to ensure that forestry actions are implemented sustainably and equitably.

With the approval of the documentation, Pará advances in one of the most important steps to consolidate its Jurisdictional REDD+ System, which aims to capture financial resources from the proven reduction of deforestation. These resources should strengthen public policies to combat deforestation and enhance the livelihoods of indigenous peoples, quilombolas, extractive communities, traditional communities, and family farmers.

The Deputy Secretary of Water and Climate Management, from the Secretariat of Environment, Climate and Sustainability (Semas), Renata Nobre, highlighted the importance of the advancement. “We have been building this system collaboratively since 2022, with broad participation from forest peoples. Not only within the scope of Coges Clima but also in the field, in the territories, where we have been very well received. There is a recognition that this is a public policy that benefits the way of life of these populations and the living forest,” she stated. “We have initiated the certification for credits based on the results of deforestation reduction in Pará in 2023, according to the official data from the Prodes system, from INPE, a robust, governmental, and auditable system that reinforces the integrity of the presented data.”

Historic reduction in deforestation

Pará has been achieving historic levels of deforestation reduction, resulting from integrated actions of command, control, land use planning, and encouragement of sustainable productive activities. In 2022 and 2023, according to data from the Prodes System (Project for Monitoring Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by Satellite), from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), Pará achieved consecutive reductions of 21% in the deforestation rate. In 2024, the state recorded an even greater reduction: a drop of 27%, according to official data - results that help consolidate the state's credibility in the pursuit of international certification of Art Trees and the generation of carbon credits with high environmental value.

In the context of building the Jurisdictional REDD+ System, 14 consultations have already been held in different regions of the state, with participation from over 500 extractive and quilombola communities. With the approval by Coges Clima, the documentation of the Jurisdictional REDD+ System will now be formally submitted to Art Trees, which will conduct the technical and socio-environmental compliance analysis according to its international criteria.

Management Committee of the State System on Climate Change

The Coges Clima is composed of representatives from various segments of society. From the public sector, participants include the Secretariat of Agricultural Development and Fisheries (Sedap), the Land Institute of Pará (Iterpa), the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Pará (Emater), the Secretariat of Economic Development, Mining and Energy (Sedeme), the Economic Development Company of Pará (Codec), the Secretariat of Indigenous Peoples (Sepi), the Secretariat of Environment, Climate and Sustainability (Semas), the Institute for Forest Development and Biodiversity of the State of Pará (Ideflor-Bio), the Secretariat of Family Agriculture (Seaf), the Secretariat of Science, Technology and Higher, Professional and Technological Education (Sectet), the Amazon Foundation for the Support of Studies and Research (Fapespa), and the Secretariat of Racial Equality and Human Rights (Seirdh).

The Public Security and Social Defense Secretariat (Segup) and the Military Fire Brigade of Pará (CBMPA) also participate in the committee. Among civil society organizations, participants include the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Rare Brazil, the Pará Association of Forest Engineers (APEF), and the Institute of Man and Environment of the Amazon (Imazon).

Research institutions such as the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), and the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) are also part of the group. From the productive sector, the group includes the Federation of Workers in Agriculture of the State of Pará (Fetagri), the Union of Mineral Industries of the State of Pará (Simineral), and the Union of Community Entities of Enterprises (Uniec).

The 7th Agrarian Public Prosecutor's Office of the 2nd Region, from the Public Ministry of Pará, based in Santarém, also participates in the committee meetings as a guest.