With investments of around R$ 55 million, the initiative will recover 1.2 thousand hectares of Atlantic Forest in the south of Bahia by planting 2 million seedlings of more than 70 native species by 2027.

Carbon2Nature Brasil, Neoenergia's joint venture with Iberdrola's Carbon2Nature to develop nature-based solutions, has just joined forces with Biomas to enter into an unprecedented partnership as co-developer of the Muçununga Project, which will restore around 1,200 hectares of Atlantic Forest in Veracel Celulose's areas in eight municipalities in the south of Bahia. The project will have an investment of around R$ 55 million, 50% of which will be made by Carbon2Nature Brasil, in which Neoenergia holds 49%, so that its contribution will be R$ 13.7 million. The closing of the project is subject to the usual conditions precedent for this type of operation.

The area to be reforested by the companies is equivalent to around 1,200 soccer fields. Over thenext two years, Biomas and Carbon2Nature Brasil will plant almost 2 million seedlings of more than 70 native species such as araçá, copaíba, guapuruvu, ipê-amarelo and jatobá. This great variety guarantees the recovery of ecological corridors, benefiting the natural ecosystem and generating more value for the project.

According to a survey by MSCI Carbon Markets, globally, only 1% of native forest recovery projects for carbon use more than 10 species. The Muçununga Project includes the restoration of native forest in the municipalities of Belmonte, Eunápolis, Guaratinga, Itagimirim, Itapebi, Mascote, Potiraguá and Santa Luzia.

As well as restoring the ecosystem and recovering biodiversity, the project will support local socio-economic development, stimulating new opportunities for income generation. Around 80 direct jobs are expected to be created in the region to implement the initiative.

As forests remove significant volumes of_CO2 from the atmosphere, the project's business model provides for restoration to be financed by the carbon credits that will be generated in the recovered areas. The Muçununga Project is expected to generate approximately 525,000 carbon credits over 40 years. Each carbon credit represents one ton of_CO2 that has been removed from the atmosphere.

"The new partnership between Carbon2Nature Brasil and Biomas celebrates the meeting of two complementary companies focused on two important agendas for society: sustainability and social development. The project reaffirms our commitment to expanding environmental benefits and quality of life, especially in regions where we are present, such as the state of Bahia - where we have distribution, generation and transmission operations, whose Atlantic Forest region represents one of the most biodiverse biomes in the world," said Eduardo Capelastegui, CEO of Neoenergia.

Created in July last year to develop nature-based solution projects to generate carbon credits, Carbon2Nature Brasil estimates it will capture more than 10 million tons of_CO2 over the next few years. This agreement comes at a time when the country is preparing to hold COP 30, and represents an important signal from investors regarding the development potential of this market, which could be a lever for the country's economic growth.

The developer of the Muçununga Project, Biomas is an ecosystem regeneration company created at the end of 2022 and whose shareholders are Itaú, Marfrig, Rabobank, Santander, Suzano and Vale. Biomas' goal is to restore 2 million hectares of degraded or unproductive areas over the next 20 years.

"The addition of Carbon2Nature Brasil to the Muçununga Project reinforces the integrity and technical quality of the initiative. This is a qualified partner, with a deep understanding of the sector, who recognizes ecological restoration as a concrete way of generating environmental and social value.This partnership also represents another important step in the maturing of the restoration sector in Brazil, helping to consolidate the country as a global benchmark in nature-based solutions," says Fabio Sakamoto, CEO of Biomas.

The Muçununga Project is located in the central corridor of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. With only 26.2% of its original native vegetation, according to a MapBiomas survey, the Atlantic Forest is the Brazilian biome that has undergone the most transformations in recent centuries.