Planet2050 and GIZ Thailand Sign Strategic MOU for Climate Action and Carbon Removal

BANGKOK – The Climate FinTech company Planet2050 and the German development agency GIZ in Thailand signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The goal of the partnership is to enable and finance innovative projects for permanent CO₂ removal (Carbon Dioxide Removal, CDR) to actively support Thailand on its path to climate neutrality.

Planet2050 contributes expertise in climate finance, CO₂ markets, and digital certification, while GIZ brings its long-standing experience in sustainable development in Thailand as well as deep-rooted networks with agricultural organizations and local authorities.

The collaboration focuses on solutions for permanent CO₂ removal, currently with an emphasis on biochar, as well as the potential for further methods in the future. The great opportunity: turning waste into valuable climate protection.

In Thailand, enormous amounts of agricultural waste (such as rice and sugarcane residues) accumulate, which are often burned – a burden on the climate and health.

Signature of the MOU at GIZ Bangkok Office with Dr. Timo Menniken, Regional Director GIZ Thailand & Lucas Zaehringer, CEO Planet2050 (Source: GIZ)

“We see a double opportunity,” says Lucas Zaehringer, CEO of Planet2050. “Biochar technology offers the possibility of using biomass waste as a strategic lever in the future. In this way, farmers can generate additional income and be incentivized to utilize crop residues meaningfully instead of burning them in a harmful way for the climate. This also results in the production of certified CO₂ removal certificates – a promising approach for functional Impact Investing.”

Planet2050's strategy perfectly aligns with GIZ's development goals and opens up the chance for a solution with great scaling potential that can significantly contribute to climate protection.

The cooperation addresses central challenges in the field of climate and agriculture through clear investment factors:

1/ Regenerative Agriculture & Soil Protection:

Biochar sustainably improves soil fertility, helps farmers, and reduces emissions by avoiding field burning.

2/ Climate Resilience & Social Impact:

Access to the global CO₂ market unlocks new, stable, and diversified sources of income for local smallholder farmers.

3/ Digital Transparency (dMRV):

The use of modern Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification systems (dMRV) guarantees the highest integrity and complete traceability of every tonne of CO₂ removed. For investors and buyers of CO2 certificates, this means a very high level of transparency and contributes to trust. This allows every certificate holder to precisely track what their investment is concretely achieving.

4/ Scalable CDR Solutions:

The global demand for permanent CO₂ removal is enormous and far from being met. While we need a variety of CDR solutions to achieve climate goals, biochar is the only immediately available and easily deployable solution operating at acceptable costs in this market. Since 2021, over 90% of all tonnes of permanent removals physically delivered to buyers have come from biochar projects.

Biochar workshop in Thailand (Source: GIZ)

To ensure seamless implementation, Planet2050 and GIZ will work closely with central local implementation partners, authorities, and research institutions.

This collaborative approach ensures that the projects are not only ecologically effective but also institutionally supported and economically scalable.

This collaboration is embedded in Planet2050's goal of creating attractive investment opportunities that make climate protection globally implementable on a large scale through the carbon market.

“Thanks to Planet2050's innovative financing model, climate-conscious investors have the opportunity to participate directly in the success of these forward-looking projects. We are very excited to prove to the world that practical solutions can offer diverse benefits – both financially and for our planet,” says Lucas Zaehringer, CEO of Planet2050.

About Planet2050

Planet2050 is a Climate FinTech company specializing in accelerating the transition to a climate-neutral economy (Net-Zero-Transition). Through the financing of global projects for high quality carbon projects, Planet2050 delivers measurable solutions for global climate protection while creating transparent investment opportunities for climate-conscious investors.

About GIZ Thailand

Owned by the German government, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH provides services in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. GIZ works on behalf of public and private sector clients both in Germany and overseas. These include the governments of other countries, European Union Institutions, the United Nations, the World Bank and other donor organisations.