The carbon credit market has always been dominated by large rural properties. The reason is simple: verifying forests and environmental projects in person costs between $4,500 and $45,000 USD, making small farms economically unviable. But this is changing.
Trust Carbon is the first Brazilian startup to fully integrate with government systems CAR (Rural Environmental Registry) and SICAR, allowing any farmer with properties starting from 1 hectare (10,000 m² or ~2.5 acres) to verify and certify their land for carbon credits — quickly, securely, and affordably.
The problem we solve: Only 0.15% of rural properties in Brazil have access to the carbon market. This means 99.85% of farmers are excluded from an additional income opportunity that can help significantly as an extra revenue source.
The Historical Barrier: Why Were Small Farmers Left Out?
Traditionally, to issue carbon credits, it was necessary to hire certified auditors who physically visited each property. This process had several problems:
- Prohibitive cost: $4,500 to $45,000 USD per verification
- Long timeline: 6 to 12 months from start to certificate
- Geographic limitation: Auditors concentrated in major urban centers
- Exclusion of small farms: Properties smaller than 250 acres weren't even considered
The result? 99.85% of Brazilian rural properties remained excluded from the carbon market, losing a valuable opportunity for additional income and incentives for environmental conservation.
Our Solution: Technology + Government Integration
Trust Carbon solves this problem through a unique combination of advanced technology and deep integration with Brazilian government systems. We are the first and only startup to achieve this integration at a national scale.
1. Integration with CAR/SICAR: The Brazilian Advantage
The CAR (Rural Environmental Registry) is a mandatory public electronic registry for all rural properties in Brazil. It contains georeferenced data from more than 8 million properties across the entire national territory.
While other companies tried to create their own databases or relied on manual processes, Trust Carbon built the infrastructure to:
- Automatically synchronize with all 5,570 Brazilian municipalities every 48 hours
- Search properties in less than 1 second even when government servers are offline
- Automatically verify eligibility, environmental embargoes and prevent duplicates
- Guarantee 99.9% uptime through our mirrored infrastructure
Technical challenge overcome: The government CAR/SICAR API is fragmented, unstable and frequently goes offline. We built a resilient infrastructure that maintains functionality even when official systems fail.
2. AI-Guided Verification and Space Technology
After identifying the property in CAR, we initiate a verification process that combines:
Automated Geospatial Analysis
Our system automatically analyzes the last 12 months of satellite data from the property: vegetation health (NDVI), accumulated precipitation, history of fires, droughts, floods, and verification of environmental embargoes.
Intelligent Verification Points
AI generates mathematically random points distributed strategically across the property (typically 20 points every 50 acres). The mobile app guides the farmer like GPS to each point.
360° Capture and AR Measurements
At each point, the farmer captures 360° photos and measures trees using augmented reality (AR). iPhone devices with LiDAR achieve professional accuracy in tree diameter and height.
Multi-Layer Anti-Fraud System
GPS spoofing verification, virtual camera detection, motion analysis, shadow and lighting consistency, temporal validation, and real-time cross-referencing with satellite data.
Identity Verification with DataValid
Integration with DataValid (Serpro - Federal Government) for biometric facial recognition, ensuring that the person at the property is truly the authorized owner.
Continuous Monitoring
After initial verification, we update vegetation indices every 4-7 days using Sentinel-2 and Landsat satellites, ensuring the forest remains protected over time.
Numbers That Prove the Impact
Trust Carbon by the Numbers
Transforming the Brazilian carbon market
International Recognition: TOP 10 Global DPI4PP
Our innovation was recognized on the international stage. In 2025, Trust Carbon was selected as TOP 10 GLOBAL among 540 startups from 73 countries in the DPI4PP (Digital Public Infrastructure Innovation Challenge for People and Planet).
DPI4PP is an initiative supported by the Gates Foundation, Co-Develop, JICA, BCG, CDPI and COP30 Brazil, focused on identifying and supporting startups that use digital public infrastructure to solve environmental and social challenges.
Inclusive Business Model
We understand that small farmers don't have upfront capital to invest. That's why we created a model that eliminates entry barriers:
For Small Properties (up to 125 acres):
- Zero upfront cost from verification to certification
- Payment only when selling carbon credits
- Charge of 5-20% of sale value of credits
- Farmer keeps 80-95% of sale value
For Large Properties (over 125 acres):
- Certification fee: $100 to $2,000 USD (depending on size)
- Or percentage model option if preferred
- Volume discounts for multiple properties
This model ensures that no farmer is left out due to lack of resources, truly democratizing access to the carbon market.
Future: Connecting with the Global Ecosystem
Our goal is not just to certify, but to connect farmers with buyers. We are building bridges with:
- International certifiers (Verra, Gold Standard, ACR)
- Carbon credit trading platforms
- Companies committed to Net Zero that need to offset emissions
- ESG and social impact investment funds
Integration with Abiental Geospace: Carbon + Biodiversity
Trust Carbon also integrates with the Abiental Geospace platform, used by more than 2,000 researchers, biologists, and environmental engineers worldwide to collect fauna and flora data.
This integration will allow farmers who preserve forests to also document the biodiversity of their lands, increasing the value of their carbon credits by 50-100% (credits with verified biodiversity are worth more).
Why This Matters for Brazil and the World?
Brazil is the country with the largest area of tropical forest in the world. However, much of this forest is on small rural properties that have never had access to the carbon market.
By democratizing this access, Trust Carbon:
- Economically incentivizes forest conservation
- Generates additional income for family farmers
- Reduces illegal deforestation through continuous monitoring
- Contributes to Brazil's climate goals (NDC)
- Promotes reforestation in degraded areas
2026 Goal: Enable 50,000 small farmers to self-verify their forests, generating 500,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent in verified carbon credits and creating $100 million USD in new income for rural communities.
Brazilian Technology, Global Impact
Although we started in Brazil leveraging the digital infrastructure of CAR/SICAR, our technology is globally replicable. We are developing a "simplified mode" for countries that don't have digitized government registries.
In this mode, farmers can:
- Draw property boundaries on a satellite map
- Upload photo of land deed
- Follow the same verification process with AI and anti-fraud
This means our solution can be applied in any country in the world, adapting to locally available digital infrastructure.
Conclusion: The Future is Decentralized and Accessible
Trust Carbon proves that it's possible to democratize complex markets using cutting-edge technology combined with digital public infrastructure. What was once the privilege of large properties is now within reach of any farmer with a smartphone.
We are transforming 8 million Brazilian farmers into climate guardians, giving them the tools and economic incentives to protect our forests.
And this is just the beginning.
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