Mastercard Announces The Expansion Of Priceless Planet Coalition

The current pandemic has underscored how interconnected our world has become – and that the health and well-being of our planet is deeply linked to that of our people.

With this in mind, Mastercard announced the expansion of the Priceless Planet Coalition, welcoming new global coalition partners including Barclays, Expo 2020 Dubai, HSBC, Network International, among others – as well as eminent environmental experts as part of the new Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee experts include Bo Lidegaard, Danish historian and diplomat, who has led international negotiations on climate change and is the former editor-in-chief of the Danish newspaper Politiken; Todd Stern, former Special Envoy for Climate Change and the US’ chief negotiator for the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement; and Izabella Teixeira, Former Minister of the Environment for Brazil and co-chair of the UN’s International Resource Panel (IRP).

Launched in January 2020, the Priceless Planet Coalition unites the efforts of consumers, financial institutions, merchants, and cities to fight climate change through the restoration of 100 million trees over five years – together with forestry experts Conservation International (CI) and World Resources Institute (WRI).

In multiple regions, coalition partners are launching campaigns to empower consumers to take action for the environment and support these reforestation efforts with innovative donation technologies.

“We created the Priceless Planet Coalition to not only inspire change but to also pursue innovation. Climate change impacts you regardless of who you are, but the effect on those who are at a social or economic disadvantage could be catastrophic. To rebuild a better world that’s more inclusive and more sustainable, we need the commitment from businesses, governments, and consumers to connect, collaborate and work towards a common goal,” said Kristina Kloberdanz, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mastercard.

According to the latest edition of the State of the World’s Forests report, published in May 2020, Africa had the highest net loss of forest area in 2010–2020, with a loss of 3.94 million hectares per year. Kenya launched a Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan in 2016 that set clear forestry restoration targets aimed at achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and transitioning into a green economy.

Forest restoration locations

The Priceless Planet Coalition aims to reinforce a restoration model that’s not only focused on planting trees but on re-growing forests in geographies with the greatest need and most potential for a positive climate, community, and biodiversity impact.

Guided by the expertise of our forest restoration partners, Conservation International and World Resources Institute, and our new Advisory Committee, the Coalition has employed rigorous science-based best practices to identify three restoration locations for the coming year in Kenya, Brazil, and Australia.

The initial tree planting locations in Kenya are in the Makuli Nzaui landscape and Makueni County. Kenya forest and landscape restoration is a key pillar within Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement. As such, this project will be a major contributor to Kenya’s efforts to curb its emissions and capture carbon in its forests and agroforestry landscapes. The resulting impact on local communities will be significant. Reforesting these important catchment areas can help to store more water within the soils, regulating its release into rivers and streams. The project will see 1.2 million trees planted in these areas which equates to 200 to 1,100 trees planted per hectare (depending on location). Beyond these initial projects, the project portfolio will be expanded to include other locations that meet established criteria.

“Communities in Africa are known to be dependent on river flow for their domestic water supply and farming needs – a direct result of forestation. A collective effort needs to be made as an effective response to the growing problem of the degradation of the Sub-Saharan region’s drylands. The consequences of forest growth through the Priceless Planet Coalition will enable us to fight climate change and we urge the businesses we are engaged with and all consumers across Africa to join us in the fight to conserve our precious planet,” said Raghav Prasad, Division President, Sub-Saharan Africa Mastercard.