REDD-Monitor’s round-up of the week’s news on forests, climate change, and REDD. For regular updates, follow @reddmonitor on Twitter.
How many “successful” REDD projects are there? Verra claims “more than 150”, but the reality is only 32 (according to Verra’s own project database)
Recently, ProPublica published a well researched article on the pitfalls of generating carbon credits from forest conservation: “An (Even More) Inconvenient Truth: Why Carbon Credits For Forest Preservation May Be Worse Than Nothing”. The article caused quite a stir and generated a series of responses from REDD proponents.
James Moore found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy in Renwick Haddow’s Bar Works investment scam
On 7 June 2019, James Moore was found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy for his role in the Bar Works investment scam. Moore was convicted after a one-week trial before the U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.
“The era of carbon offsets is drawing to a close”, says UN Environment. Then changes its mind
“The era of carbon offsets is drawing to a close. Buying carbon credits in exchange for a clean conscience while you carry on flying, buying diesel cars and powering your home with fossil fuels is no longer acceptable or widely accepted.”
REDD in the news: 3-9 June 2019
REDD-Monitor’s round-up of the week’s news on forests, climate change, and REDD. For regular updates, follow @reddmonitor on Twitter.
WWF scandal (part 11): Dutch documentary exposes the shoot on sight policy in Kaziranga National Park, India
Kaziranga National Park in the north east of India has a shoot on sight policy, used against poachers and villagers found inside the park. Violent evictions of communities who lived in the national park have taken place, and park rangers are accused of serious human rights violations. Kaziranga was the subject of a recent documentary by the Dutch documentary TV series, Zembla.
REDD in the news: 27 May – 2 June 2019
REDD-Monitor’s round-up of the week’s news on forests, climate change, and REDD. For regular updates, follow @reddmonitor on Twitter.
Carbon fraud trial collapse in London. Judge notes that expert witness Andrew Ager knows a lot about carbon markets, but has little or no understanding of the duties of an expert witness
A £7 million carbon credit fraud trial has collapsed at Southwark Crown Court. In his closing observations, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith described the prosecution’s expert witness, Andrew Ager, as “not an expert of a suitable calibre”.
Renwick Haddow pleads guilty to involvement in “the fraudulent scheme related to Bar Works”. Sam Aura pleads not guilty
On 23 May 2019, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York put out a press release about the case against Renwick Haddow and others involved in the Bar Works scam. The press release includes the following statement:
REDD in the news: 20-26 May 2019
REDD-Monitor’s round-up of the week’s news on forests, climate change, and REDD. For regular updates, follow @reddmonitor on Twitter.
A company called Verified Carbon Solutions is running a recovery room scam together with another company called Kentisbury Trust. And/or SML & Associates
Earlier this week, REDD-Monitor received an email from Brian Smith (name changed). Brian explained that about seven years ago he’d been scammed into buying carbon credits as an investment. Recently, Brian received an email from John Miles at a company called Verified Carbon Solutions. Miles said he was acting as a broker for Kentisbury Trust, a company looking to buy five million carbon credits.
Guest Post: Nature-based solutions. Separating the wheat from the chaff
Recently, British journalist George Monbiot launched a Natural Climate Solutions campaign. In the spirit of encouraging debate about the dangers of offsetting emissions from fossil fuels against the carbon temporarily stored in ecosystems, I wrote a post asking the question, “Is the new Natural Climate Solutions campaign a distraction from the need to leave fossil fuels in the ground?”
REDD in the news: 13-19 April 2019
REDD-Monitor’s round-up of the week’s news on forests, climate change, and REDD. For regular updates, follow @reddmonitor on Twitter.
A story of carbon credits, diamonds, and fraud. Featuring London Carbon Market, Carlton Chase, SDKA International, Gurpreet Singh Rai, and the return of Luke Ryan
Gurpreet Singh Rai, or Gurps to his friends, describes himself as someone who was a “prominent figure of the Carbon Market”. He claims to have created history in 2011, when he became “the first person to successfully facilitate a commodity trade using a virtual currency”.
NGOs oppose the oil industry’s Natural Climate Solutions and demand that Eni and Shell keep fossil fuels in the ground
Oil giants Eni and Shell have both recently announced plans to use trees to offset some of their ever increasing carbon emissions. Yesterday, NGOs put out a statement opposing the oil industry’s attempts to avoid its responsibility for climate breakdown. The statement is signed by six organisations (Friends of the Earth Mozambique and South Africa; Centre for Natural Resource Governance, Zimbabwe; No REDD in Africa Network; Re:Common, Italy; and Friends of the Earth International). The statement is endorsed by a further 109 organisations.