McLaren buys carbon credits in quest for net zero

SAO PAULO: McLaren Racing has agreed to purchase carbon credits from reforestation projects in Brazil's Amazon rainforest and CO2 removal initiatives in Britain and the US as part of its bid to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, the team said on Thursday.

McLaren competes in Formula One and the IndyCar Series, with emissions coming - in addition to motor racing itself - from activities such as air travel, with Formula One set to race 24 times in 22 different countries next year.

One of the deals was to buy carbon removal credits from Brazilian startup Mombak, which reforests degraded land in the Amazon, while a second one involves Scottish firm UNDO, removing CO2 from the atmosphere through enhanced rock weathering.

McLaren also said in a statement it was partnering with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, an Australian non-profit that works to restore coral reefs. Australian Oscar Piastri drives for the team in Formula One.

Britain-based McLaren aims to reduce its emissions by 90 per cent by 2040. For the remaining 10 per cent, it would implement initiatives such as carbon offsetting. It did not disclose how much it was investing in its new 'Climate Contribution Programme'.

"A big part of that is making sure that we reduce emissions across all our operations and supply chain," the team's director of sustainability Kim Wilson said of the 2040 net zero goal.

"But we know that's not enough. We also have to do something about the existing carbon in the earth's atmosphere."

Mombak told Reuters that under their deal it would deliver McLaren removals from 2023 through 2025 at an average price of more than $50 per metric ton, a premium over the traditional carbon credit market.

Carbon credits are tradable permits that allow the owner