As per the terms of the MOU, the companies have agreed to preserve and restore Hawaii’s biological carbon sinks, via Improved Forest Management (IFM), Avoided Deforestation (AD) and Avoided Conversion (AC) types of carbon offset projects.
For each project, ERA will provide financing for direct offset project costs. Also, it will be responsible for preparing a Project Design Document (PDD) in accordance with an approved methodology and standard.
Sales and marketing of the carbon credits generated through co-operative ERA-MCR projects will be initiated by ERA upon formal approval of a PDD. Net revenues derived from the sale of carbon credits will be shared between ERA and MCR.
Dr Robert Falls, CEO of ERA, said: “We are very pleased to be working in Hawaii with a well established landowner that has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to the conservation and stewardship of the special ecosystems of the Big Island.
“This project is the first of its kind in Hawaii, and we are confident that it heralds a new era of carbon-financed conservation and restoration in the Hawaiian Islands.”
