Latham Advises on Landmark Forest Protection Funding in the Amazon

In December 2023, a multi-disciplinary, multi-office Latham team advised Emergent as it entered into first-ever agreements with forest-rich host governments to supply emission-reduction credits to buyers in the public and private sectors. On September 24, 2024, the Brazilian state of Pará became the first government in the Amazon basin to secure forest protection funding from the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition, with the signing of a landmark deal worth up to US$180 million.

Through the LEAF Coalition, Emergent initiates forestry projects in developing countries that generate carbon credits for sale in global markets. LEAF Coalition has become one of the largest ever public-private efforts to help protect tropical forests, to benefit the communities who depend on them, and to support sustainable development, a critical requirement of the journey to global net zero carbon emissions. To date, more than 30 corporations and the governments of Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Republic of Korea are involved in LEAF Coalition.

Home to around 25% of the Brazilian Amazon, Pará is a key front in the battle against deforestation. Under the agreement, LEAF Coalition private sector buyers have committed to purchase 5 million emissions reductions credits.

The deal also makes a further 7 million credits available for additional corporate buyers, with Emergent anticipating strong levels of demand. The agreement is backed by purchase guarantees from the governments of Norway, the UK, and the US, covering a percentage of the credit volumes.

Latham has been advising Emergent since 2019, with more than 25 lawyers across offices in the US, UK, EU, and Asia. The team involved in this most recent deal included New York partners JP Brisson and Gianluca Bacchiocchi, Paris partner Fernando Mantilla-Serrano, and Washington, D.C. partner Joseph Bargnesi, with associate Jim Lambert.