Brazil's Mombak Delivers Early to Google, Other Buyers in Boost for Carbon Removal Credits

SAO PAULO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Brazilian reforestation startup Mombak said on Tuesday it had delivered its first Amazon carbon removal credits more than two years ahead of schedule, a milestone that could help build confidence in a market long plagued by concerns over project quality and delayed deliveries.

The company said the credits were delivered to buyers including Google, McKinsey and McLaren Racing, all of which had expected to receive them in 2028. Bain & Company, Climeworks, Commons and Union Square Ventures also received credits.

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Mombak restores degraded farmland and pasture in Brazil's Amazon rainforest by planting native tree species, generating credits from the carbon dioxide captured by the forests, which can be sold to companies seeking to offset emissions.

The startup has planted nearly 15 million trees across 12 farms in the Amazon, and this first issuance amounts to more than 21,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere, it said.

"The carbon market has unfortunately had a lot of challenges with underdeliveries and late deliveries from suppliers across the board," Mombak Chief Commercial Officer Dan Harburg told Reuters to continue

"Being two years early in some of our first deliveries is really valuable for the relationships that we build with existing buyers and with other buyers," he said, adding Mombak had also sold some credits on the spot market.

The credits also mark the first deliveries under the Symbiosis Coalition, a group of buyers - including Google and Microsoft (MSFT.O) - of nature-based carbon removal credits that has pledged to contract more than 20 million tons of offsets by 2030.

The transaction shows carbon finance could help scale climate solutions when developers and buyers follow more rigorous standards, said the coalition's executive director, Julia Strong.

"This is a proof point that when buyers commit, these projects can actually implement and deliver the impact that they say they will," Strong said.

Mombak expects a larger issuance of an additional 55,000 credits in late 2026, it said.

Brazil's nascent carbon market has attracted interest from investors and lenders in recent years as companies seek high-quality carbon removal projects to meet climate targets. Tech giants, for example, are looking for ways to soften the impacts of huge investments in power-intensive data centers for AI.

Some critics, however, say the offsets allow polluters to avoid reducing their emissions.