ENGIE and Itaú sign partnership for the strategic offsetting of emissions

Edital Compromisso com o Clima selects the Floresta Photovoltaic Complex

ENGIE and Itaú have signed a partnership agreement involving ENGIE’s Floresta Photovoltaic Complex carbon credits project allowing the bank to offset 86 thousand tons of CO₂ of its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) for the 2016/2017 period. On a comparative basis, this would be enough to compensate the annual average emissions of about 33 thousand Brazilians based on per capita CO₂ emissions in Brazil for 2014 according to World Bank data.

ENGIE’s project was chosen through the Climate Commitment Notice for Purchase of Carbon Credits, an initiative of Itaú and Natura, with the support of Instituto Ekos Brasil. The aim is to generate reductions in GHG emissions, subscribe to best practices in the carbon market with corresponding social and environmental benefits.

The aim of the Climate Commitment Program is to create a network of organizations interested in maximizing their strategies for mitigating GHG emissions through low carbon initiatives with positive socio-environmental impacts for enterprises in the areas of energy, agriculture, forestry and waste management, among others.

The Program also seeks to share knowhow and good practices in the selection of socio-environmental projects as well as contributing to ensuring the viability of initiatives for mitigating climate change. ENGIE is pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of this initiative and to debut with its first project for this platform.

The voluntary offsetting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions is an important component in combatting climate change and generating new financial flows to be applied in socio-environmental projects that promote the transition to a low carbon economy.

ENGIE Brasil’s CEO, Maurício Bähr, points out that this is one of the ways in which ENGIE contributes to the energy transition. “This project together with the sale of renewable energy and our management, monitoring and energy efficiency solutions are instrumental in enabling our partners to totally or partially decarbonize their production processes”.

“Companies are increasingly seeking voluntary mechanisms to offset their GHG emissions. ENGIE has a long track record in the carbon market and is actively developing opportunities for promoting projects for reducing GHG and generating carbon credits which can be offered to its clients”, Bähr adds.

This initiative is in line with one of ENGIE’s strategic pillars, that of decarbonization, and integral to the company’s goal of being a global leader in the energy transition process.

About the Floresta Photovoltaic Complex

The Floresta Photovoltaic Complex is located in the municipal district of Areia Branca/RN. With an installed capacity of 86 MW and operational since December 2017, the project generates clean and renewable energy equivalent to the annual household consumption of more than 350 thousand people.

The project was registered in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in 2017 and is part of the so-called “Brazilian Activities Program for Incentivized Non-Conventional, Renewable Energy Projects through Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions”, of which ENGIE is a participant with this and two other solar energy projects, in addition to a further two wind power operations.

In addition to reducing GHG emissions from the Brazilian energy matrix, the project brings innumerous socio-environmental benefits to the region, including the generation of employment and income, skills upgrades and training of the local population and biodiversity research and education, among others.