Inside the controversial tree farms powering Apple’s carbon neutral goal

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on MIT Technology Review or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Apple’s ambitious carbon neutrality goal is increasingly reliant on controversial eucalyptus tree plantations in Brazil’s Cerrado region
• Through its $200 million Restore Fund, Apple, along with partners like Microsoft (see sustainability performance), aims to offset carbon emissions by investing in fast-growing timber farms managed by BTG Pactual
• Any ecologists and local communities question the ecological and social costs of replacing native savanna ecosystems with commercial eucalyptus plantations

🔭 The context: Eucalyptus farming has a long and fraught history in Brazil, dating back to reforestation drives during the 1960s military dictatorship
• Today, Brazil leads global eucalyptus production, with plantations supplying pulp, paper, and now, carbon credits
• With global carbon offset markets under growing scrutiny for credibility, companies are shifting from "avoided deforestation" to "carbon removal" projects — like new tree plantations — to meet net-zero claims

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Replacing native ecosystems with monocultures risks biodiversity loss, water stress, and fire vulnerability, even if carbon is sequestered rapidly
• While these projects offer scalable solutions for corporate carbon accounting, critics warn they could undermine long-term ecological resilience and authentic climate mitigation, particularly in fragile regions like the Cerrado, which holds vast belowground carbon stocks and unparalleled biodiversity

⏭️ What's next: BTG Pactual plans to expand Project Alpha to cover hundreds of thousands of hectares, mixing eucalyptus farms with native restoration zones
• Apple and Microsoft’s heavy investment signals broader tech sector adoption, but increasing fire risks, water depletion concerns, and growing scientific opposition may pressure policymakers, verifiers, and companies to tighten standards on what counts as legitimate carbon removal
• A potential shift toward "climate contribution" models over strict carbon accounting is also gaining traction

💬 One quote: "Under no circumstances should planting eucalyptus ever be considered a viable project to receive carbon credits in the Cerrado." — Lucy Rowland, University of Exeter

📈 One stat: In 2024, Apple reported offsetting 700,000 metric tons of CO₂ — but needs to remove 9.6 million metric tons annually by 2030 to meet its net-zero target

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of Apple and its peers Microsoft, Meta, and Suzano

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