Mombak – a Brazilian startup removing carbon from the air through reforestation of the Amazon has received an investment of $5 million into its vehicle “The Amazon Reforestation Fund” from the Rockefeller Foundation.
The investment will aim to enhance reforestation efforts in the Amazon and generate high-quality carbon removal credits. Mombak’s first project in Northern Brazil will plant three million trees with more than 100 native species, including 200,000 seedlings of endangered species.
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According to the companies’ announcement, over one million trees will be planted by next month, including endangered or vulnerable species such as Cedro Rosa (Cedrela fissilis), Castanheira (Bertholletia excelsa), Itauba (Mezilaurus itauba), Mogno (Swietenia macrophylla), and others.
The project will also create over 50 formal jobs in the local municipality although additional projects of this kind are also expected before the end of 2023 that would create further opportunities. The company’s goal is for the projects to cover over 10,000 hectares of degraded pastureland and generate up to 6 million carbon credits.
Mombak is a Brazilian reforestation startup launched in 2021 by two entrepreneurs Peter Fernandez and Gabriel Silva. The company’s ambitions are high and aims to be the world’s largest high-integrity reforestation carbon removal company. It has already partnered with some of the world’s largest investors to boost its operations and has attracted over $100 million in investments.
“Nature-based solutions could help reduce one-third of the necessary global emissions by the end of the decade, but remain grossly underfunded, with an estimated $700 billion financing gap per year… The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to help close this gap by investing in Mombak’s innovative model that seeks to remove carbon by reforesting the Amazon,” commented Maria Kozloski, Senior Vice President of Innovative Finance at The Rockefeller Foundation.
“The Rockefeller Foundation’s investment reinforces the integrity of our projects… One of the biggest issues in our industry is trust. We are working to create the world’s highest-integrity carbon projects,” said Peter Fernandez, CEO of Mombak.
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Mombak’s activities are focused on reforesting Brazilian pastureland using native and biodiverse tree species to rebuild the forests of the Amazon. The company buys the degraded land from farmers and ranchers or partners with them to conduct the reforestation projects. Mombak also creates, verifies and sells high-quality carbon removal credits. The credits are sold via both spot sales and long-term customer offtake agreements.
The Rockefeller Foundation’s investment is part of a $100 million financing to support the largest biodiverse reforestation effort for carbon removal in the region. Earlier in July this year, Mombak announced an investment of $49 million by French insurer AXA to support its initiatives.
