Concept: German climate tech startup Pina Earth has unveiled an online platform for European forest owners to get certified to sell carbon credits. The platform emphasizes assisting landowners to boost woodland biodiversity and secure their forests for the future.

Nature of Disruption: The platform forest owners can register for carbon credits as an initial step. A carbon credit is a permit to emit a specific quantity of CO2 or other greenhouse gases. It offers a high-tech forest management service and helps landowners modify their forests by planting climate-resilient tree species. This enables forest owners to earn more carbon credits over time compared to if they did not undertake the sustainability-focused measures that will allow the forest to take up more carbon. Pina Earth employs AI modeling to forecast the impact of climate change on future forest growth. The AI combines with remote data capture to monitor customer projects and validate forest improvements to increase the quality of carbon credits.

Outlook: Climate change increases the risk of survival of trees, with forest fires, droughts, diseases, and other extreme weather conditions. Offsetting acting as a climate change-fighting tool remains low, increasing the need for a tool that can offer enhanced carbon credits. Pina Earth’s platform provides digital data collecting, monitoring, and certification services that help forest owners to launch high-quality carbon initiatives. The startup raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by XAnge. It intends to utilize these funds to employ more workforce and product development. Additionally, Pina Earth plans to expand to European Union forests.

This article was originally published in Verdict.co.uk