Planning for Long-Term Carbon Removal and the Role of Early-Stage Investment
Updated: 27 minutes ago
How companies can secure access today to the carbon removal credits of tomorrow
A Blog from Marisa Kunze, Head of Carbon Asset Development at First Climate
Key Insights:
Early engagement can facilitate companies to secure future carbon removal credits with predictable terms and shield against potential supply shortages.
Involvement during the development phase is the most direct form of participation and gives companies an active path in shaping a project.
Early-stage investments support the development of new carbon removal capacity and can complement a long-term procurement portfolio.
Carbon Removals are becoming increasingly important for achieving long-term net-zero targets. Even after substantial emission reductions, most companies will continue to have some unavoidable residual emissions. Managing these residual emissions requires approaches that remove carbon (CO2) from the atmosphere and store this carbon – for example, through afforestation, ecosystem restoration, or the production and use of biochar.
Version 2.0 of the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Corporate Net-Zero Standard, published in June 2026, also emphasizes the importance of carbon removal. It requires certain larger companies (Category A) to address a growing share of their ongoing emissions through eligible carbon removals starting in 2035, increasing from at least 1% of remaining emissions in 2035 to 100% in their respective net-zero target year.
Carbon Removals: Growing Demand runs into Limited Supply
Progressively more companies are setting science-based net-zero targets. Demand for high-quality carbon removal is therefore expected to keep growing over the medium term. However, future supply is not promised to grow at the same pace.
For long-term procurement, companies need to consider both the type of carbon removal they need and whether it will actually be available when they need it. Generally, carbon removal projects take several years to develop, validate, register, and verify. Development and certification can be particularly complex and resource-intensive for nature-based projects, such as afforestation and reforestation (ARR), including long lead times prior to the first carbon credits issuances. Potential funding gaps can jeopardize the completion of promising projects.
Roles Early-Stage Investment can play in a Carbon Removal Strategy
From my perspective as a project development specialist, this presents an important opportunity for companies. Getting involved early allows them to secure access to future carbon removals and align expected delivery volumes and commercial terms with their procurement plans.
Companies that hesitate and wait until carbon removal credits become available can run the risk of facing a market with rising demand, limited supply, and higher prices. Early-stage investments come into play comparatively much earlier. They finance projects during development, helping create the conditions for new carbon removal capacity. Depending on the participation model, companies can also help shape project development alongside their role as offtakers, or early buyers of the future credits.
Early engagement provides projects with the initial funding needed for feasibility studies, project planning, validation, and implementation. In return, companies benefit from early access to future carbon credits, insight into project development, predictable terms, and a high degree of influence over project decisions.
This approach is particularly attractive to companies seeking to build their own long-term carbon removal portfolio and secure reliable supply for the decades ahead.
What “Early Stage” Really Means
An early-stage climate project is one that is currently in development. During this stage, we identify suitable project sites, conduct scientific analyses, assess technical and financial feasibility, and begin implementation phase. Many projects rely heavily on external financing upfront to move forward because climate projects incur costs at this stage without generating revenue. This gives companies an opportunity to get involved early and take an active role in supporting project development.
Two of our promising ARR (Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation) carbon removal projects are currently in the early stage. Both have successfully completed feasibility studies confirming that they are ready to move toward implementation. As early project partners, companies can play a significant role in shaping the implementation, scaling, and further development of these two distinctive projects.
Greening Gambela Restores Degraded Landscapes in Ethiopia
We are currently developing Greening Gambela, an early-stage project in western Ethiopia. This community-focused reforestation project aims to restore degraded and deforested land in the Gambela region. Decades of intensive agricultural use, deforestation, and overgrazing have led to biodiversity loss and have undermined the livelihoods of many local communities that depend directly on the region’s natural resources.
This is where our Greening Gambela project comes in. By bringing back native forests and restoring the surrounding ecosystems, we help degraded land recover, strengthen the natural processes that people and wildlife depend on, and create lasting carbon stores.
These activities restore degraded land, improve ecosystem services, and build long-term carbon storage capacity. The first project phase aims to reforest up to 10,000 hectares with native tree species. It sets out to restore forest cover, enhance biodiversity, and create important wildlife corridors. Local communities play a central role. Working with an experienced NGO partner, local participants are actively involved in establishing and operating tree nurseries, planting, monitoring, and implementing the project over the long term.
The project’s significant scaling potential makes it particularly attractive. Beyond the first phase, approximately 340,000 additional hectares suitable for future restoration have already been identified within the project region. The initial phase has the potential to generate around 3.5 million high-quality carbon removal credits over the project’s lifetime. If early stage financing is secured in 2027, the project is expected to begin issuing its first credits in 2031.
We are actively seeking corporate partners interested in joining the development of Greening Gambela at an early stage and securing their access to future carbon removal volumes from the project.
Mata Atlântica Restores Ecological Corridors in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest
Our Mata Atlântica project in Brazil also offers significant potential to scale. It focuses on restoring ecological corridors in the Atlantic Rainforest, one of the world’s most important and most threatened biodiversity hotspots. Today, only around 12% of the original forest area remains in viable condition. The remaining forest areas are often isolated from one another, restricting the movement of many animal species and reducing genetic exchange.
The Mata Atlântica project combines climate action and biodiversity conservation in a distinctive way. It restores degraded pastureland through ecologically based reforestation and reconnects isolated forest fragments. This creates larger, connected habitats for numerous endemic and highly threatened animal and plant species while building long-term carbon stores. A scientific study shows that well-connected forests can store considerably more carbon than isolated forest areas. In one region of the Atlantic Forest covered by the study, annual carbon storage was more than three times higher.
Rather than using monocultures or fast-growing plantation species, the project prioritizes ecological quality, using more than 60 native tree species grown from regionally sourced seeds and well suited to local conditions. We expect the project to remove up to 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO₂e, over 40 years. The first credits are also expected to be issued in 2031.
By joining as early-stage project partners, companies can gain advance access to the first high-quality carbon removal credits. Depending on the contractual arrangements, they may also benefit from a long-term offtake pipeline of carbon credits with potential to scale. The first project phase covers approximately 2,000 hectares. In total, around 65,000 hectares of potentially suitable land have already been identified for expansion. Early partners can thus strengthen their long-term procurement prospects and reduce their reliance on future spot market purchases.
 Beyond these two projects, First Climate is continually developing additional early-stage project opportunities. These currently include a carbon removal project in Ghana. Contact us to learn more! |
How Early-Stage Investment Can Complement a Procurement Portfolio
Early-stage investment can be combined with other approaches in a company’s procurement strategy. Many businesses already mix different approaches, complementing early-stage investments with long-term offtake agreements or later spot purchases. This combination is often a particular strength. A balanced procurement portfolio brings together short-term flexibility and long-term supply security.
Companies seeking long-term access to high-quality carbon removal should consider getting involved before credits become available. The projects they will need in ten or fifteen years must be developed and financed today.
Would you like to learn more about our early-stage projects or explore which investment model best fits your climate strategy?
Contact us to learn how your company can support the development of the next generation of high-quality carbon removal projects!
About the Author
Marisa Kunze is Head of Carbon Asset Development at First Climate. She has several years of experience developing projects in the voluntary carbon market, specializing in reforestation, afforestation, mangrove restoration, and sustainable agriculture. Her team is currently working on afforestation initiatives in Madagascar, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone; mangrove restoration in Indonesia and Nigeria; and regenerative agriculture projects in Germany, Kenya, and Colombia.
