(Credit: Iberdrola)Iberdrola has launched a new carbon credit firm, Carbon2Nature, which focuses on nature-based carbon capture solutions.
Companies may purchase Carbon2Nature carbon credits knowing they will go toward emissions avoidance, carbon sequestration, ecosystem conservation, and restoration projects in forests, coastal ecosystems, and agricultural soils. Iberdrola’s mission involves developing high-impact, nature-based solutions to reduce global carbon emissions and improve biodiversity.
The newly-created firm reflects the company’s emphasis on investing in nature in order to address the climate and biodiversity crises without compromising on profitability.
Iberdrola plans to implement projects in regions where they already maintain a presence and where nature-based solutions have clear potential to succeed. Latin American countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile will serve as sites for 80% of projects, and remaining projects will be based in the Northern Hemisphere, in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
"To face the global challenge of climate change, the firm was created with the ambition to make a long-term impact at an international level,” said Miguel Ángel García Tamargo, director of Carbon2Nature. "In order to achieve this, it is committed to diversification in geographies and projects and promotes collaborative strategies for their development with local communities and other actors, guaranteeing the highest levels of quality. We come to this new market with humility and a desire to do things differently, bringing all of Iberdrola's experience in sustainability to the world of nature-based solutions and the generation of carbon credits."
Carbon credit systems have faced scrutiny for offering companies a way to "buy themselves out" of sustainability goals without reducing their own emissions. Recently, major airlines, fashion brands, and other industry leaders have been accused of greenwashing due to their dependence on dubious carbon credit purchases to offset their emissions.
Iberdrola's nature-based carbon credits offer a more dependable option for companies looking to reach net zero goals as Carbon2Nature projects will be certified against internationally recognized quality standards. As more nature-based carbon absorbing platforms are created, such carbon credits should become increasingly more viable.
Iberdrola, mainly a renewable energy company, claims the new firm underscores their own commitments to reach net-zero emissions by 2040 and have a net positive impact on biodiversity by 2030.
