April 14, 2020 (ITHACA, NY) – Restore the Earth Foundation, Inc. (Restore the Earth) is thrilled to announce the formation of a strategic partnership with ClimeCo, a Pennsylvania-based developer and marketer of environmental commodities, to advance the landscape-scale reforestation of one million acres in the Mississippi River Basin, “North America’s Amazon.” Born out of disaster from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Restore the Earth has secured federal, state, and private funding and reforested over 60,000 acres along the Gulf Coast. In 2016, Restore the Earth launched its million-acre initiative in North America’s Amazon, the most ecologically degraded area in the US, to scale the integrated environmental, social and economic impacts generated by reforestation.
“We are confident that with ClimeCo as a partner, we will assure the successful completion of this critical reforestation,” stated PJ Marshall, Founder & Executive Director of Restore the Earth. “Once completed, 100 million trees will be planted, 200,000,000 MT of CO2e will be sequestered and over $12 billion in economic value will be generated. Restoration at this landscape-scale ensures that biodiversity, habitats, and communities are enhanced and supported in self-sustaining systems.”
To help fund this initiative, Restore the Earth pioneered the development of the Climate Action Reserve’s Climate Forward Reforestation methodology. The Climate Forward program is designed to accelerate action on climate change by encouraging companies and organizations to proactively invest today in projects that mitigate future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Restore the Earth’s initial project is set to reforest more than 5,000 acres of the historic bald cypress forest at the Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, which is anticipated to sequester more than 1,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The Climate Forward program provides a mechanism for Restore the Earth to quantify, verify, and register forecasted mitigation units (FMUs), which ClimeCo will market to voluntary buyers to help fund future reforestation efforts in the Mississippi River Basin.
“We are so excited to launch this partnership with Restore the Earth on what I view as the most significant reforestation program in North America, if not globally,” says William Flederbach, President of ClimeCo. “The reforestation of North America’s Amazon is so critical to combatting climate change and provides so many additional environmental and social benefits to the region and nation. Using the Climate Action Reserve’s Climate Forward Program is not only the best way to promote well-needed investments but is the perfect environmental instrument to align future reductions with an organization’s projected emissions.”
Restore the Earth Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit with a mission of restoring the Earth’s essential forest and wetland ecosystems. Restore the Earth knows that it’s possible to go beyond protecting our environment—it is possible to restore it. A restored environment at landscape-scale creates incredible value for ecosystems, biodiversity, habitat, communities, business, and the Earth. Restore the Earth works together with partners to bring solid solutions to deliver successful restoration to meet strategic objectives. Restore the Earth’s innovative EcoMetrics Model accurately accounts for, in monetized terms, the environmental, social, and economic co-benefits/value created by restoration. An EcoMetrics report is accredited by international standards and is third-party verified and ready for audit. EcoMetrics allows Restore the Earth’s funding partners to report back to stakeholders on the ROI and SROI of investment in environmental restoration with complete confidence.
ClimeCo is a leader in the development and management of environmental commodities, including both industrial emission reductions and nature-based sequestration projects. As the No. 1 facilitator of voluntary GHG transactions in North America and a key proponent of the Climate Forward program, they maintain a diverse portfolio of carbon offsets and future mitigation units to meet their customer’s volume, project, and geographical diversification criteria.
For more information, please visit restoretheearth.org or follow us on Twitter–@REF_Restores.