The Washington Post reported Wednesday that a number of carbon credit projects claim to protect land already protected by conservation efforts in Brazil.
Over the past two decades, the so-called “carbon cowboys” who launched carbon credit initiatives for financial gain have created land conservation projects across the Amazon rainforest, generating hundreds of millions of dollars worth of carbon credits and building a loosely regulated market worth about $11 billion worldwide. according to According to the Washington Post, the Brazilian government's anti-deforestation policies have already protected more than 78,000 square miles of land that was used for conservation projects before applying for carbon credits, and 29 of the 35 internationally certified projects in the Amazon overlap with public lands, meaning the majority of the carbon credits overlap with existing conservation measures. (Related article: SEC officials discuss with green finance company accused of selling 'fictitious' carbon credits)
The 29 ventures have sold an estimated total of $212 million in offsets, according to a Washington Post analysis using annual market rates. Multi-billion dollar companies like Netflix, Delta Air Lines, Spotify, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Boeing are just a few of the big companies that have bought these credits to offset their emissions.
These companies are also buying carbon credits as a way to improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, according to veteran energy consultant David Blackmon.
“Most carbon credit trading systems amount to wealth transfer schemes designed to benefit the wealthy with little to no benefit to the environment,” Blackmon told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “In most cases, companies are buying these credits simply because they are forced to do so by misguided government regulation or ESG demands from environmental investors and financial institutions.”
Dutch political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek had this to say about the WEF’s plans to impose personal carbon emission allowances tied to digital identities under the guise of tackling a fictitious “climate crisis”:
“If all CEOs of the largest Dutch banks acted as individuals…” pic.twitter.com/l7fenuQdXd
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) October 21, 2023
Dan Kish, a senior fellow at the Energy Institute, questioned whether the industry's lack of regulation or accounting standards gives interested parties room to manipulate the emerging market.
“Standards are virtually nonexistent and the ones that exist are created by the players themselves,” Kish told DCNF. “This is pure white collar crime that unnecessarily inflates the price of products, robs land that could provide a better future for our children, impoverishes people in Third World countries and ultimately passes the burden on to consumers. This is green imperialism that enriches some at the expense of the poor.”
On June 5, three carbon offset projects in Brazil were targeted by federal police for allegedly making around $35 million in profits from fraudulent carbon credit sales, according to The Washington Post. The investigation, dubbed “Operation Greenwashing,” involved nearly 20 companies and led to the arrest of five people, including Ricardo Stoppe, owner of five REDD+ projects aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the Amazon. according to To Mongabay, an American conservation news site.
Despite the crackdown, Kish remains skeptical that multinational companies that buy carbon credits will admit fault.
“This is a big scam… [carbon offsets] “They're just buying the virtue signaling, so they don't actually care and will pretend to be surprised when the fraud comes to light,” Kish told the DCNF.
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