With a goal of mobilizing US$10 billion, the BRB Financial Coalition is advancing to overcome market distrust and structure projects with Nature-based solutions.
Although challenging and complex, the regeneration and bioeconomy agenda in the Amazon has the potential to generate systemic and transformative impact—not only in the Amazon region but also in other territories. This was advocated by Gabriel Azevedo, ESG Managing Director at IDB Invest, during the panel “Unlocking private investments for bioeconomy, restoration, and regenerative agriculture: the path to COP 30,” held on Tuesday (27th) at the II Brazilian Forum on Climate and Nature Finance in Rio de Janeiro.
The debate brought together members of the Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Financial Coalition (BRB FC), a multi-sector initiative launched last November during the G20, with the aim of mobilizing large-scale private capital for forest restoration and strengthening the community-based bioeconomy in the country. Moderated by Marina Cançado, founder of Converge Capital and Ato, the debate also featured Danielle Carreira, Head of Financial Sector Engagement at the World Economic Forum (WEF) ; and Alessandra Fajardo, Senior Advisor for COP-30 and Strategic Integration at the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS).
At the meeting, Gabriel drew attention to the main bottlenecks that still limit the entry of private capital in this field, such as lack of knowledge on the subject, legal and regulatory uncertainty, and the absence of projects with scale and structure compatible with the financial system’s requirements. “We are talking about something that can structurally change the system. There are proponents at various scales, but few projects reach the necessary level to attract capital. Whether due to financial structuring or governance, a minimum standard has yet to be achieved. The noble mission alone does not move the investor. We need profitability and to address the risks,” he stated.
The panel addressed alternative financial mechanisms to unlock large-scale capital, one of the central motivations for creating the BRB FC. The initiative aims to mobilize US$10 billion by 2030 for restoration and bioeconomy projects, focusing on the recovery of at least five million hectares of Brazilian forests. In the long term, the Coalition also intends to contribute to reducing carbon emissions by one gigaton by 2050.
Karen Oliveira, Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) – one of the institutions that make up the BRB FC – presented initial data from the study “Mapping of Ventures by Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities, Community Funds, and Facilitating Organizations.” The research provides an unprecedented overview of these communities and how they access financial resources, in addition to pointing out pathways for new investments aimed at the community-based bioeconomy.
The study’s data reinforces the urgency—and opportunity—to invest directly in initiatives led by indigenous peoples and local communities. The proposal is aligned with one of the Coalition’s goals: to mobilize at least US$500 million by 2030 to support this type of enterprise in the Amazon and other Brazilian biomes. “We are talking about effective solutions that already exist and that we want to leverage based on the good results the Coalition has already achieved,” stated Karen. The objective is to increase investment potential while simultaneously contributing to deforestation control.
The TNC director warned, however, about the limitations of current financing mechanisms. “Often, the available credit lines do not cover essential costs for these initiatives,” she said.
In this context, Gabriel highlighted the strategic role of the BRB FC as an articulator between investors and proponents and as an agent of influence on public policies. “The Coalition can continue to draw attention to the transformative and systemic potential of this agenda, which goes beyond Brazil and Latin America. It is a global issue,” he affirmed. For him, regenerating five million hectares in the Amazon would bring significant gains in terms of climate and biodiversity, as well as social impact. “It’s impressive what this can represent,” he said, adding that it is up to the Coalition to challenge traditional risk analysis logics. “Risk assessment personnel don’t yet know how to analyze this type of proposal. We are pioneers. No one has ever done this before.”
The BRB FC already has 21 members from different sectors, including representatives from the public sector, private initiative, and civil society, in Brazil and abroad. Recently, the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) and S.Oleum joined the initiative. Among the members are investors, governments, companies, environmental organizations, and indigenous leaders—all committed to promoting the bioeconomy and expanding the scale of forest restoration in the country.