Suzano sees “climate emergency” and anticipates goal of removing carbon from the atmosphere

Suzano, the world’s largest producer of eucalyptus pulp, anticipated in five years, from 2030 to 2025, the goal of removing 40 million tons of equivalent carbon gas from the atmosphere. The measure reflects the company’s belief that short-term initiatives are “essential” in the face of a climate emergency.

Anticipation of the target will be supported by the expansion of vegetation cover via commercial plantations and conservation areas. The company will also continue to seek to improve forest management, through research and management, in order to avoid losses, maximize productivity and expand carbon removal.

Other initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its own operations and along the value chain are planned. Currently, the company maintains 2.38 million hectares of plantation and preservation, of which 40% refer to preservation.

In a virtual event promoted last week to debate the main themes related to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), the president of Suzano, Walter Schalka, once again said that the different actors involved in the debate on climate change should look to the present, and not just 2050. “You can’t postpone it any longer,” he said.

For Schalka, the establishment of a regulated carbon market would be one of the most important achievements of COP26. “The regulated market will be fundamental for having legal force over companies and countries,” he explained.

In addition, the formal market would serve to finance decarbonization. “The price of carbon will rise and companies that do not meet the targets will have to invest to decarbonize. This will generate business opportunities for a huge number of companies and a suitable environment for the next generations”, said the executive.