​Grounded Regenerative and Carbon-Smart Coffee Solutions

​Access to new financial and technological solutions towards a resilient and climate-positive coffee farming and value chain

​📍 AquaPraça — Italian Pavilion at COP30, Belém, Brazil
🗓️ November 10, 2025 | 18:00–22:00 (GMT-3)
🎥 This session will be recorded.

​Introduction

​At COP30 in Belém, this event will spotlight innovative climate solutions in agriculture, ranging from regenerative and circular practices to mechanization, agroforestry, Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), and Biochar, with a special focus on their application in the coffee sector.

​Coffee is one of the world’s most important crops, particularly in the Global South, and faces severe challenges from soil degradation and climate change, impacting livelihoods, supply security, and quality.

​Scaling these solutions requires innovative financial, policy, and market frameworks. Carbon markets, and other climate finance tools can create incentives for farmers, cooperatives, and project developers to implement regenerative and carbon-smart practices that strengthen livelihoods and climate resilience.

​🗓️ Agenda

​18:00–18:15 — Welcome & Opening Remarks

​Vanúsia Nogueira
Executive Director, International Coffee Organization (ICO)
Duration: 15 min | Confirmed
🔗 LinkedIn

Ms. Nogueira will highlight the critical intersection between coffee production and climate action. As the Executive Director of the ICO and a champion of the Brazilian coffee sector, she will discuss the growing risks climate change poses to coffee producers and the urgent need for regenerative solutions and soil management. Her address will set the vision for what is needed to help farmers adapt and thrive while contributing to global net-zero goals. Framing coffee as a symbol of sustainable development, ensuring smallholder livelihoods, protecting ecosystems, and meeting rising global demand sustainably. In addition, she will report on partnerships with the private sector as a necessary approach to address coffee climate and sustainability and resilience issues and the success of the joint efforts of ICO with the Italian Government and UNIDO in the innovative ACT Programme in Africa and the need to consider extending it to other coffee regions, namely South and Central America.

​18:15–18:30 — Keynote Address

​Director General Stefano Gatti
Director General for Development Cooperation, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Duration: 15 min | Confirmed
🔗 Profile

​Director General Stefano Gatti will open the event with a keynote address highlighting Italy’s leadership in advancing sustainable development and international cooperation through innovative climate action. As Director General for Development Cooperation and Minister Plenipotentiary, Stefano Gatti oversees Italy’s global partnerships on climate resilience, food security, and green transition. His remarks will set the stage for a dialogue that bridges agricultural innovation and carbon removal, reflecting Italy’s commitment to aligning international development policy with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. Director Gatti will emphasize how grounded, sound and science-based solutions matched with access to finance, practical on-the-ground actions and Public-Private Partnerships,  have driven the Italian government action on coffee in the last few years. These actions can simultaneously foster rural prosperity, regenerate ecosystems, and increase resilience and livelihood of coffee farmers, positioning the coffee sector as a model for sustainable transformation.

​18:30–18:45 — Keynote Address

​Andrea Illy
Co-Chair, Regenerative Society Foundation / Chairman, illycaffè
Duration: 15 min | Confirmed
🔗 LinkedIn

​Andrea Illy will share his experience as a scientist and entrepreneur and a passionate visionary, reflecting on the major challenges faced by the global coffee sector — from supply security risks to the growing vulnerability of farmers’ livelihoods due to climate change. His keynote will explore the key variables that determine the resilience of coffee systems and outline both mitigation and adaptation pathways. Special emphasis will be placed on the application of regenerative agriculture practices as a cornerstone for restoring ecosystem health, enhancing productivity, and ensuring long-term sustainability. He will also address the enabling conditions and financial mechanisms — including innovative public and private schemes and application of AI — required to secure a prosperous and equitable future for coffee farmers, the industry, and consumers alike.

​Session 1 — Agronomic Innovations and Farmer Co-Benefits

​18:45–19:30
Moderator: Yusuf Khan, Sustainability Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
🔗 LinkedIn

​Panelists:

• ​Dr Injy Johnstone – Research Fellow, Oxford Net Zero 🔗 LinkedIn

• ​Frederico Fernandes G. Bernardez – Director-President, ABREFEN (Brazil) 🔗 LinkedIn

• ​Felix Harteneck – Founder & CEO, InPlanet (Brazil) 🔗 LinkedIn

• ​Olivier Reinaud – Co-Founder & Managing Director, NetZero (Brazil) 🔗 LinkedIn

​Objective: Explore how regenerative and circular approaches—including ERW and biochar—are transforming coffee landscapes, yields, and farmer livelihoods.

​Discussion Points:

• ​Can regenerative agriculture really enhance quality, yield, and resilience?

• ​Lessons from Brazil’s national soil remineralization program and India’s ERW pilots.

• ​Turning coffee husks into biochar: the circular model in practice.

• ​R&D collaboration for MRV and integrity.

• ​Farmer incentives, training, and equitable participation.

​Speaker Bios — Session 1

​Banbi Semroc (Conservation International)
Semroc has worked at Conservation International for more than 20 years, with a focus on sustainable agriculture. During her tenure she has worked with retail and consumer goods companies to craft next generation sustainability commitments, innovative sourcing programs and landscape initiatives. Before stepping into this role, she led Conservation International’s coffee program and started up the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, a sector-wide effort to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product. Semroc works to ensure communities and companies have the information, tools and resources necessary to more sustainably manage and steward the lands and waters they depend on. She has collaborated with the Starbucks Coffee Company, Walmart, McDonald’s, Nestle, The Coca-Cola Company and others. Semroc is an active board member of the Global Coffee Platform and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
Prior to Conservation International, Semroc worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Togo. She holds a master’s degree in international development from American University and a bachelor’s degree in English and French from Indiana University.

​Frederico Fernandes G. Bernardez (ABREFEN)
A leading voice in Brazil’s “rock powder revolution,” Frederico Bernardez has long championed regenerative agronomy and mineral-based soil restoration. As Director-President of ABREFEN, he has driven the expansion of Brazil’s remineralizer sector to over 1.5 million tons applied annually, enhancing productivity and carbon sequestration across diverse crops. Bernardez has been instrumental in shaping national policy and research collaborations to integrate soil remineralization into Brazil’s climate and agriculture agendas. At COP30, he will share agronomic and economic insights from award-winning coffee farms, showing how policy and local innovation together advance sustainable, low-input agriculture.

​Felix Harteneck (InPlanet)
Entrepreneur and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, Felix Harteneck is the Founder and CEO of InPlanet, a German-Brazilian climate-tech company pioneering Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) as a scalable and permanent carbon removal solution for tropical agriculture. Under his leadership, InPlanet became the first company to deliver certified ERW carbon removal credits, positioning Brazil as a global leader in durable carbon removal. At COP30, Felix will share field results from basalt application trials in Brazilian coffee systems and discuss farmer engagement strategies, highlighting how rock powders like basalt provide a full spectrum of nutrients essential for yield and quality.

​Olivier Reinaud (NetZero)
Olivier Reinaud is a leading innovator in climate-smart agriculture, pioneering the conversion of coffee processing residues into biochar through a network of decentralized production plants across Brazil. His work delivers a sustainable soil amendment while generating certified carbon credits, a dual benefit for farmers and the planet. Under his leadership, NetZero’s model empowers smallholder farmers to boost soil health and yields while contributing verifiable carbon removals to global markets. Through partnerships with cooperatives and global brands like Nespresso, he demonstrates how local circular economies can advance both agricultural resilience and climate action. In 2025, NetZero was awarded $15 million as a winner of the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, recognizing its highly efficient biochar solution.

​Moderator – Yusuf Khan (WSJ)
Yusuf Khan is a sustainability reporter at The Wall Street Journal in London, where he covers the intersection of heavy industry, agriculture, and energy with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dynamics. His reporting spans the metals that power the clean energy transition to the agricultural systems at the heart of global food and carbon cycles. Formerly with Argus Media, where he specialized in European metals markets, Yusuf brings a deep understanding of industrial decarbonization and commodity supply chains. At COP30, he will guide discussions linking carbon removal innovations to real-world markets, finance, and global trade.

​Session 2 — Financing and Enablers for Scale

​19:30–20:15
Moderator: Tito Jankowski, Co-Founder & CEO, AirMiners (US)
🔗 LinkedIn

​Panelists:

• ​Ashish Kumar – Strategy & Financing Lead, Mati Carbon (India/Africa) 🔗 LinkedIn

• ​Federico Pontoni – Sustainable Finance Expert, UNIDO / ACT Programme 🔗 LinkedIn

• ​Wietse Vroom – Chairman, Global South Coalition for Carbon Dioxide Removal (GS-CDR) 🔗 LinkedIn

• ​Alastair Collier – Founder & Chief R&D Officer, A Healthier Earth (UK) 🔗 LinkedIn

​Objective: Explore how finance, policy, and partnerships can unlock regenerative and climate-smart investment in the global coffee sector.

​Discussion Points:

• ​Innovative financing: PPPs and Italy’s ACT Programme as scalable models.

• ​Carbon markets as catalysts for verified, high-integrity removals.

• ​Infrastructure finance: crushing, logistics, and processing for scale.

• ​Policy frameworks and incentives across Brazil, the EU, and US.

• ​Equity and inclusion for smallholder farmers in climate finance.

​Speaker Bios — Session 2

​Ashish Kumar (Mati Carbon)
Representing the $50M XPRIZE Carbon Removal winner, Ashish will present Mati’s smallholder model, which delivers crushed rock to farmers at no cost, improving soil health and yields while monetizing verified CO₂ removal. Just in 2025, Mati has delivered more than ~$4.5M worth of income uplift to the smallholder farmers, highlighting the strong social and economic potential of Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW).

​Federico Pontoni (UNIDO)
Federico Pontoni is a senior sustainable finance advisor at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with nearly two decades of experience in energy and climate finance. He advises regional institutions, national governments, and private sector actors on power sector reforms, energy transition strategies, climate adaptation investments, and public–private partnerships. Federico has led the conceptualization and feasibility studies of major infrastructure and climate projects across Africa and the Middle East, bringing extensive on-the-ground and policy-level expertise. His previous roles include working with Power Africa, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and various international consultancies, where he supported the design and financing of sustainable energy initiatives. He holds dual Ph.D. degrees in Economics and in International Law and Economics, reflecting his multidisciplinary approach to sustainable development and finance.

​Wietse Vroom (GS-CDR)
Chair of the Global South Coalition for Carbon Dioxide Removal, advocating equitable access to CDR finance and integration of removals in NDCs. Key voice for Global South representation in emerging carbon markets.

​Alastair Collier (A Healthier Earth)
Alastair Collier is the Founder and Research & Development Lead at A Healthier Earth, where he pioneers the integration of biochar technologies with advanced measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. His work focuses on developing scalable, data-driven pathways that enable farmer-focused carbon removal through soil restoration and regenerative practices. Recognized as COP28’s Official Biochar Partner, Alastair has been instrumental in translating scientific innovation into field-level climate solutions. By combining agronomic insights with digital infrastructure, he helps bridge the gap between smallholder farmers and global carbon markets, advancing a more equitable and resilient agricultural transition.

​Moderator – Tito Jankowski (AirMiners)
Tito Jankowski is the co-founder and CEO of AirMiners, a community and startup accelerator he launched in 2017 to help kickstart the carbon removal industry. Under his leadership, AirMiners has grown into a thriving global network of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and investors dedicated to reversing climate change through innovative carbon removal solutions. Jankowski has been instrumental in building this vibrant ecosystem, notably through the AirMiners Launchpad accelerator program, developed in partnership with XPRIZE and Creative Destruction Lab, which has supported over 90 early-stage companies, and earning three XPRIZE awards for climate innovation. He co-founded BioCurious, the world’s first community biology hackerspace in Silicon Valley, to democratize access to scientific innovation beyond traditional labs. He also co-founded OpenPCR, an open-source DNA copying machine project, and served as a product manager at Scanadu, a health-tech startup developing consumer medical diagnostics. His early work in open science and hardware has been featured in major outlets like The New York Times and Wired, reflecting a career-long commitment to accessible, impactful innovation.

​Closing & Networking

​20:45–22:00 — “Re-hydrate & Re-mineralize” on the Floating Pavilion
Informal networking aperitif overlooking the Guamá River — an evening of conversation, collaboration, and connection among coffee, climate, and carbon leaders.

​Hosts & Partners

​🇮🇹 Hosted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security.

🌎 In collaboration with: the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), CIHEAM Bari, the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate Program, and the COP30 Presidency. Main partners include BF International, Costa Crociere, ENEL, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS Group), and Bloomberg Philanthropies, in partnership with the Government of the State of Pará. Event collaborators include InPlanet, UNIDO, the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Mati Carbon, and the Global South CDR Coalition.

​📍 Venue:
Cultural Center Casa das Onze Janelas
R. Siqueira Mendes, Cidade Velha, Belém – PA, Brazil
Facing the historic waterfront, AquaPraça anchors COP30’s Italian Pavilion — a floating cultural space linking official negotiations with the Amazon’s living ecosystems.