Exposed: carbon offsets linked to high forest loss still on sale
Published on 05/10/2023, 12:43pm
Project owners in Cambodia and Brazil are selling carbon offsets to Uber, Marathon and ArcelorMittal despite an uptick in deforestation
Exposed: carbon offsets linked to high forest loss still on sale
Underreported deforestation can generate worthless carbon offsets. Cover art: Spoovio / Fanis Kollias / Climate Home News
By Matteo Civillini
Tucked on the edges of a biodiversity hotspot, the Tumring project in Cambodia is supposed to prevent a rainforest the size of Chicago from being chopped down.
Its supporters claim it has been doing exceptionally well. The Cambodian government hailed it as the “most successful” community-based forest conservation scheme on the carbon market and a climate solution.
Satellite images tell a different story. Tumring is experiencing dramatic deforestation, losing over 22% of trees in the project area since the scheme began. The Cambodian government does not account for this loss in official monitoring reports.
Nor is this an isolated case. In a joint investigation, Climate Home and Unearthed, Greenpeace UK’s investigative journalism unit, found similar discrepancies in two Brazilian projects, based on data from two different satellite monitoring platforms. Companies like Uber, ArcelorMittal and Marathon are still using credits from these three projects to offset their emissions – and there is nothing to stop them.
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2023/10/05/exposed-carbon-offsets-linked-to-high-forest-loss-still-on-sale/
