Chevron U.S.A. Inc., through its Chevron New Energies division, and Restore the Earth Foundation, Inc. announced agreement for a reforestation project for up to 8,800 acres of property in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana.
The project will bring together Chevron and Restore the Earth Foundation to develop a nature-based solution, which is expected to remove carbon from the atmosphere and be focused on reforesting natural cypress forests and swamps in St. Charles Parish. Chevron will provide funding for Restore the Earth to plant an expected 1.7 million native bald cypress seedlings as part of the project.
“Carbon offsets are expected to play a notable role in global carbon reduction. Chevron New Energies is proud to collaborate with Restore the Earth on our inaugural carbon offsets project – bringing lower carbon solutions to Chevron as well as our customers,” said Barbara Harrison, vice president of Offsets & Emerging of Chevron New Energies. “In addition to helping remove carbon, the seedling replanting is anticipated to contribute to local forest and wetland ecosystem restoration.”
In 2021, Chevron launched Chevron New Energies to accelerate lower carbon businesses in hydrogen; carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS); offsets; and emerging opportunities, as well as support Chevron’s continued focus on biofuels. The St. Charles Parish cypress reforestation project is expected to generate carbon offsets that could both help offset Chevron’s carbon emissions, and also help customers achieve their lower carbon goals.
“We are excited to launch this partnership with Chevron New Energies. Restore the Earth’s landscape-scale reforestation is a nature-based solution critical to addressing climate change and provides so many additional environmental and social benefits to the region and to the nation,” said P.J. Marshall, founder and executive director, Restore the Earth Foundation, Inc. “Forward-thinking organizations like Chevron New Energies are initiating impactful and simple solutions that provide for healthy ecosystems, biodiversity, habitat and community resiliency in self-sustaining systems—taking the long-term perspective of generations, decades and centuries, providing for overall well-being, livelihood, identity and culture.”
“Partnering with Restore the Earth Foundation and Chevron to accelerate reforestation on Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries lands helps us to reach the full potential of enhanced, sustained, protected and conserved habitat of wildlife species supporting vegetation and biodiversity on our Wildlife Management Areas,” said Jack Montoucet, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “Additional benefits of the restored Louisiana forested wetlands include the carbon sequestration of the trees supporting climate mitigation and LDWF adaptation goals.”
“We are incredibly thankful to have Chevron as a community partner and appreciate their continued commitment to coastal restoration in St. Charles Parish,” said Matt Jewell, president of St. Charles Parish.
