TotalEnergies Begins Afforestation Operations In Congo, Brazzaville

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On the occasion of the Republic of the Congo’s National Tree Planting Day, TotalEnergies and Forêt Ressources Management started the “Batéké Carbon Sink” afforestation operations.

On the Batéké Plateaux, this large-scale project comprises of 40,000 hectares of planted forest. Over the course of ten years, 40 million trees will be planted and cared for, with a total lifespan of 35 years.

Local tree nurseries have already generated over one million trees in the last eight months, which will be gradually planted on the 800 hectares of land that have been prepared since last summer beginning with the next wet season.

“We are pleased to officially launch the Batéké Carbon Sink project, which is a concrete example of TotalEnergies’ commitment to the development of natural carbon sinks, along with others.

“We warmly thank the Republic of the Congo, whose support for the operation is essential, for its commitment to the preservation of forests and the promotion of afforestation activities,” said Nicolas Terraz, President Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.

“TotalEnergies’ climate ambition is based on a panel of concrete actions, aiming first to prevent and then to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and finally to offset residual emissions”

“The planting of a new forest on the Batéké Plateaux is a concrete illustration of this approach, complementing all the other priority measures for preventing and reducing TotalEnergies’ emissions.”

The 40,000 hectares planted will create a carbon sink that will sequester an average of 500,000 tons of CO2 per year over twenty years, equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of an average European city of 70,000 inhabitants. The carbon credits will be certified in accordance with the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).

The project, financed by TotalEnergies, includes agroforestry practices developed with the local communities for agricultural production and sustainable wood energy.

It will create employment opportunities, with a positive impact on several thousand people. In addition, a local development fund will support health, nutritional and educational initiatives to benefit neighboring villages.