Marubeni Corporation and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) announced the formation of a new joint venture, Marubeni MOL Forests Co., Ltd., to create, trade, and retire nature based carbon removal credits. The company will operate under the philosophy: “Open the way to a sustainable future through the power of people and forests.” It operates in the cause of supporting worldwide environmental conservation towards sustaining the future development of human societies through designing nature-based projects on carbon removal.
The new company’s pilot project will grow 10,000 hectares of new forests across Indian districts, ready to start serving carbon credits starting in 2028.
Why Carbon Removal Credits Matter
With increasing pressure for global decarbonization, nature-based carbon removal credits, which remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere, are an essential tool to achieve net-zero targets. Carbon sequestration techniques such as afforestation and carbon capture and storage (CCS) underlie these credits.
Nature-based solutions also provide many other environmental values, including preserving biodiversity, rejuvenating soils and protecting water resources, all of which contribute to address climate change with support for ecosystem restoration. Moreover, these factors make them unavoidable in the pathway to achieving any sustainable development objectives.
Commitment towards Decarbonization by Marubeni and MOL
Marubeni has integrated decarbonization into its long-term corporate vision and Mid-term Management Strategy, “GC2024.” The company is actively advancing renewable energy projects, new energy solutions such as hydrogen and ammonia, and sustainable forestry initiatives in Indonesia and Australia. Additionally, Marubeni is engaged in generating and trading carbon credits through greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects in collaboration with partners globally.
Also read: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Madoqua Sign MOU to Develop Green Corridor
MOL’s Environmental Vision
Under its BLUE ACTION 2035 plan, MOL aims to become a comprehensive social infrastructure company, diversifying its portfolio beyond shipping. Its Environmental Vision 2.2 includes a commitment to achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050 and contributing to the removal of 2.2 million tons of CO2 by 2030. Additionally, the high quality carbon credits generated by Marubeni MOL Forests will play a key role in reaching these milestones.
The alliance will pool in their resources to accelerate the building and deployment of nature-based carbon removal solutions to help towards a greener, more sustainable economy.