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Fresh off winning the Earthshot Prize, re.green sets its sights high: The Brazil-based organization hopes to replant more than 1 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
Thiago Picolo says he always knew his home country of Brazil could be a big player in climate solutions.
“From the very beginning of my career, I have always believed that Brazil plays a unique role in global climate solutions, not only because of its forests, but because it offers the possibility of turning science into real, tangible impact,” says Picolo, the chief executive officer of re.green. “What motivated me to join re.green was precisely its purpose: proving that it is possible to generate economic value by restoring nature, rather than degrading it.”
Late last year, the country took a step toward that goal when re.green became the first Brazilian organization to win an Earthshot Prize.
Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” goal to land a man on the moon within a decade, HRH Prince William founded the Earthshot Prize in 2020, an initiative to discover and support climate leadership and innovation. Each year, it gives £1 million ($1.15 million) to organizations in five categories: Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World, Fix Our Climate, and Protect and Restore Nature, the award re.green received.
“Even more important than the financial support is the validation of our vision that ecological restoration can and should be economically viable,” Picolo says. “This makes it easier to form partnerships, attract capital providers, banks, and funds, and connect with global players who may not have previously taken restoration as seriously. It gives us even greater credibility to scale and to inspire other sectors to join this mission.”
Combining automation and machine learning, re.green locates degraded land in need of regeneration and creates a plan to replant and maintain the forests for the long-term. In the past five years, the organization has worked on more than 34,000 hectares in the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon, planting 6 million native seedlings and establishing relationships with local communities. The group hopes to restore more than 1 million hectares across the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon by 2030.
According to Picolo, only 12% of the Atlantic Forest’s original cover remains, often in isolated fragments.
“This fragmentation compromises biodiversity, water resources, and regional climate stability,” Picolo says. “The loss goes far beyond fewer trees, which would already be extremely serious. It means more fragile rivers, species extinctions, degraded soils, increased risk of extreme climate events, and a direct impact on the quality of life of millions of people who depend on the ecosystem services provided by this biome.”
After studying the soil and land-use history of a location, re.green determines which native species are best suited to the location. Then, they start the restoration process. Picolo said that re.green works exclusively with native species from each biome, and the seedlings are produced in local nurseries, including their own.
“The seedlings are planted in arrangements designed to encourage natural forest regeneration and the formation of a balanced ecosystem,” Picolo says. “But the work does not end with planting. We continuously monitor the growth of restored areas and adjust the process whenever necessary.”
It’s a time-intensive process, Picolo says. “Seedlings grow within a few years, but forming a fully functional forest takes much longer. This long-term perspective is exactly what ensures the quality and durability of our projects.”
Looking ahead, Picolo says he sees strong growth in re.green’s operations thanks to the Earthshot Prize. He said that winning the prize didn’t change the organization’s mission, but “it simply accelerated [our] path toward it.”
“There is still much work ahead, but reaching 1 million restored hectares is entirely achievable given the scale and potential of this market,” he says. “We will continue to expand through a combination of climate finance, corporate partnerships, and a scalable business model focused on high-quality carbon credits.”
