Petrobras and BNDES launch the first ProFloresta+ call for proposals to acquire 5 million carbon credits

Petrobras and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) launched on Monday, the 10th, the first ProFloresta+ call for proposals to purchase 5 million high-integrity carbon credits. Five contracts will be signed for 1 million credits each, to be generated from the ecological restoration of at least 3,000 hectares per project, in private or public areas under forest concession within the Amazon biome, over a 25-year period.

"Our team is very optimistic about this first Petrobras transaction involving ecological restoration carbon credits. The expectation is that it will serve as a price and technical benchmark for generating high-quality carbon credits from the forest restoration of our biomes," said Petrobras' Director of Sustainability and Energy Transition, Angélica Laureano.
 
Petrobras structured the ProFloresta+ program in partnership with BNDES, aiming to provide financing to the developers of the projects selected through the call for proposals via special credit lines, such as the Climate Fund, with favorable rates and terms for ecological restoration projects that may last up to 25 years and have a financial cost of 1% per year. The call for proposals has the potential to generate more than R$ 450 million in investments.

"BNDES is helping to turn the forestry sector into a driver of the green economy. Through credit, non-reimbursable funds, and financial innovation, we are creating real conditions to scale up restoration and the sustainable use of our biomes. ProFloresta+ is an example of this vision: an instrument that will strengthen the high-integrity carbon market and generate tangible benefits for people and the planet," said Tereza Campello, BNDES's Director of Social and Environmental Affairs.

ProFloresta+ will enable greenfield projects, and therefore the delivery schedule of the credits was designed to allow the winning company time to complete all the necessary stages for project development, including land acquisition or leasing, structuring seed and seedling supply, planting, and carbon credit certification. The first credits are expected to be delivered within seven years after the contract is signed, with subsequent deliveries every five years until the end of the 25-year contractual period.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 30 days. Among the companies and projects that pass the technical pre-qualification phase, those that develop ecological restoration projects with native species and offer carbon credits at the lowest price—generated from the reforestation of degraded areas—will be selected. These credits will have guaranteed purchase by Petrobras through long-term offtake contracts, at a price to be defined in the bidding process.

In this first call for proposals, consortia of up to four companies will be admitted, and each bidder (individual or consortium) may be awarded up to three contracts, totaling a maximum of 3 million credits. Proposals may be submitted for lots of 1, 2, and/or 3 million credits. The call for proposals is available on Petronect, Petrobras' procurement portal, at www.petronect.com.br (Opportunity 7004526249).

Partnership

A joint initiative between Petrobras and BNDES, announced in March 2025, ProFloresta+ encourages forest restoration in the Amazon, financed through the sale of carbon credits. The program's goal is to promote the restoration of approximately 50,000 hectares of degraded areas in the Amazon, generating 15 million carbon credits.

The initiative received technical support from the Nature Investment Lab (NIL) and the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS). With support from iCS, Agroicone and Imaflora worked on developing technical integrity requirements, co-benefits, and socio-environmental safeguards, while the law firm Mattos Filho provided legal advisory services.

In addition to reducing and offsetting emissions, ProFloresta+ contributes to increasing vegetation cover with native species, conserving biodiversity, and strengthening the technical and management structure of the forest restoration sector's value chain and the carbon credit market in Brazil.