LA PAZ (Reuters) – Bolivia aims to sell $5 billion worth of carbon offset credits, the government announced on Thursday, in a bid to shore up its economy and finance efforts to stop rampant forest loss.
Countries or companies can purchase carbon credits to offset their own greenhouse gas emissions by financing projects that reduce climate-warming emissions elsewhere.
“The intention is to conserve, plant and reforest. And it’s a way to generate value in this country,” Bolivian Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said in a press conference.
Bolivia’s economy has been struggling, with its foreign reserves nearly depleted and many people unable to get dollars. The country has also been facing increased deforestation and forest fires, smashing its record with at least 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) burned during this year’s fire season.
“You all know how much we’ve spent in putting out fires, trying to control them and we should have resources to prevent, mitigate and get ahead of it,” Montenegro said.
“If the intentions to plant, reforest and mitigate this type of environmental damage are valued, then it’s welcomed.”
He added that the credits will help the country reach its goal to end deforestation by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The Bolivian “sovereign carbon credits” will comply with rules for offsetting under the Paris Agreement on climate change, meaning that foreign countries could purchase them in order to count the carbon sequestered toward meeting their own national climate targets, according to Laconic Infrastructure Partners, which is assisting with the sale.
Laconic said its SADAR Natural Capital Monetization platform manages the data to ensure sovereign carbon products are compliant with the Paris Agreement and local regulatory authorities.
(Reporting by Monica Machiaco and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Sandra Maler)
