By Virginia Furness
LONDON (Reuters) -Standard Chartered has agreed to sell millions of carbon credits aimed at protecting the Amazon rainforest on behalf of the Brazilian state of Acre as it looks to build out its carbon credits business and foster trust in the nascent market, a senior banker told Reuters.
Standard Chartered’s agreement to exclusively sell forest carbon credits generated in Acre over five years is one of the first examples of a major international bank working with a sub-national government in this way to support forest conservation, the bank said.
The bank’s involvement could bring legitimacy to a market which has struggled in recent months after prosecutors in Brazil’s Para state sought to annul a similar $180 million carbon offset scheme amid concerns about forward contracts and local community rights.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure these are high quality from an environmental point of view and that a credit really does reduce a tonne of carbon,” said Chris Leeds, head of carbon markets development at the bank. “It is a very complicated process.”
The project is expected to generate up to 5 million credits in 2026, bringing in up to $150 million.
Carbon credit projects that claim to avoid deforestation have faced intense scrutiny in the past because of the challenges involved in proving how many trees projects saved from being razed.
Jurisdictional forest carbon credits are generated by national or state-level programmes aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation. They are designed specifically to reduce the risk that projects overstate the carbon-reduction benefits they claim.
Local and indigenous communities are set to receive 72% of the net funds generated by the state and have been part of a consultation process, the main phase of which began in May 2025.
Unlike Para’s deal, Acre’s is not a forward sale, Leeds added. “There is no commitment on our part to sell the credits today. That is the difference.”
Several Brazilian states have signed agreements to protect vast swathes of forest in return for investment including the State of Piauí in July.
(Reporting by Virginia Furness; Editing by Leslie Adler)
