In the Brazilian Amazon, workers use metal tubes to sow seedlings in rapid succession, as part of an effort to reforest the jungle with millions of trees.

The project has financial backing from the United States and lucrative contracts with companies such as Google, Microsoft and the McLaren F1 team, who want to use the reforested area to offset millions of tons of carbon emissions.

By planting native species that will thrive in the Amazon, the Brazilian company Mombak hopes to restore credibility to a scandal-ridden carbon market at a crucial time for the warming planet.

"We identified a great opportunity in the market, which is the global goal of reducing emissions in the coming years", said Mombak co-founder Gabriel Silva, at the Turmalina farm in the northern state of Para.

"The Amazon is the best place in the world to reforest," he added, citing the loss of 60 million hectares since 2015.

The carbon market is based on the sale of credits to companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by financing reforestation or protecting existing carbon sinks that absorb CO2.

The idea behind carbon credits has, however, taken a major hit recently as scientific research has repeatedly shown claims of reduced emissions being hugely overestimated -- or even........

© International Business Times