The AmazonFACE scientific program reaches a significant milestone in its trajectory with Petrobras' support for its experimental phase. Through the Leopoldo Américo Miguez de Mello Research, Development and Innovation Center (Cenpes), the company will offer technical collaboration and finance the main scientific input necessary to begin the experimental phase of one of the most ambitious research projects currently underway on climate change in tropical forests worldwide.
The R$113 million investment stems from a Cooperation Agreement signed between Petrobras, the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), through the Center for Meteorological and Climatic Research Applied to Agriculture (Cepagri), and the National Institute for Amazonian Research (Inpa). The funds are managed by the Unicamp Development Foundation (Funcamp).
In addition to meeting the demand for supplies for approximately five years, the funds will be used to pay for 24 research grants for the same period, and to purchase equipment and consumable materials.
The resources originate from the Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&I) Clause, stipulated by law and regulated by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). This mechanism mandates that companies in the sector allocate a portion of their revenue to research, technological development, and innovation projects. The legislation ( ANP Resolution 918/2023 ) provides for investments in R&D&I projects that involve, among other modalities, basic and applied research developed by institutions accredited by the ANP, such as Unicamp.
In 2025, the AmazonFACE program was selected by Petrobras to receive investments from the R&D Clause. This investment enables the start of the experimental phase of AmazonFACE and the supply of its main input for approximately five years. The experiment is expected to begin after the necessary tests under elevated CO2 levels , any necessary technical adjustments, and the contracting of suppliers. After the experiment's infrastructure is fully operational, the project is expected to continue uninterrupted for the next ten years.
The AmazonFACE scientific program aims to investigate one of the greatest sources of uncertainty regarding the future of the Amazon: how the world's largest tropical rainforest will respond to the eventual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration that drives climate change. The Amazon rainforest – the world's largest tropical rainforest – is a complex ecosystem with a crucial role in regulating climate, rainfall, and other ecosystem services in Brazil and worldwide. This initiative is pioneering in investigating, at an ecosystem scale, how increased atmospheric CO₂ concentration will affect the functioning of tropical forests, their biodiversity, carbon cycle, water availability, and capacity to regulate climate, among other aspects.
Considered one of the most ambitious ecological experiments of our time, AmazonFACE (an acronym for "Free-Air CO2 Enrichment" ) uses technology capable of simulating the CO2 concentration predicted for the next few decades. In a tiny patch of forest located in a research area, the environment will experience an increase of approximately 50% in CO2 concentration, rising from 420 ppm (parts per million) to 620 ppm, without altering other natural conditions of the ecosystem. The open-air laboratory is instrumented from the ground to the tree canopy to measure all the ecosystem's reactions.
By funding the supply of inputs used in the research, Petrobras directly contributes to the generation of strategic scientific knowledge about the impacts of climate change and to the strengthening of Brazilian science in a topic of high international scientific interest.
Supporting AmazonFACE reinforces the company's commitment to supporting scientific initiatives that expand knowledge about the impacts of climate change and contribute to the development of science-based solutions, promoting research, innovation, and collaboration across sectors. The program brings together scientific excellence, institutional cooperation, and the potential to generate strategic knowledge about the effects of increased CO₂ concentration in the Amazon and its impacts on the global climate.
“Petrobras’ participation represents a decisive step for AmazonFACE to enter its experimental phase. The support ensures the conditions to answer fundamental scientific questions about the future of the Amazon, reaffirming local leadership in a scenario of climate change, while preserving the independence, transparency, and scientific rigor that characterize initiatives of this magnitude,” highlighted the acting rector of Unicamp, Fernando Coelho.
About the AmazonFACE scientific program
AmazonFACE ( Free-Air CO₂ Enrichment ) is a scientific program established by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) in 2014. The scientific coordination of the program is carried out by the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) and the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). Since 2021, the program has benefited from international cooperation with the British government through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and technical implementation by the official meteorological agency, the Met Office, making it the largest international scientific cooperation project between Brazil and the United Kingdom.
The experiment is installed at an INPA research station, called ZF2, located 80 km north of Manaus (AM), Brazil. The area is representative of the Amazon biome. In the experimental area, 423 tree species were identified, with more than half showing some degree of use by the populations of the Amazon region. The soil type in the researched area is the same as that found in approximately 60% of the biome.
The expectation is that the program will generate data on the potential contribution of the world's largest tropical rainforest to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and on its vulnerability to climate change. The combination of experimentation in the forest and mathematical models of vegetation and the atmosphere aims to provide key answers to understanding the future of the Amazon rainforest in the face of climate change. The results will contribute to improving global climate projections, guiding public policies, and expanding knowledge about the role of the Amazon in regulating Earth's climate.
Currently, AmazonFACE brings together more than 150 researchers from Brazilian and international institutions and constitutes one of the main scientific infrastructures dedicated to the study of tropical forests in a context of global environmental change. The program has its own governance structure and independent scientific committee. The definition of research agendas, the conduct of studies, and the dissemination of results remain the responsibility of the scientific institutions that coordinate the program, preserving the independence, transparency, and scientific rigor that characterize the initiative.
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