Here’s the backstory of Total oil’s announcement of its plans to plant a “40,000 hectare forest” in the Republic of Congo to offset and greenwash its emissions.
Category: France
Regulatory failure: The strange case of a French company called Carbon Market
By Chris Lang Carbon Market is a timber company, registered in France in May 2009. The company imports timber from Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon.
Oil, corruption and lies in the Republic of Congo
By Chris Lang In September 2019, the President of the Republic of Congo, Dénis Sassou Nguesso, flew to Paris to meet Emmanuel Macron, France’s President. Macron signed a letter of intent committing US$65 million to the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) to protect the Republic of Congo’s forests.
Total greenwash: Total CEO announces oil company will spend US$100 million a year on forest protection and reforestation
By Chris Lang On 6 July 2019, Patrick Pouyanné, the CEO of French oil and gas company Total, announced that his company would invest US$100 million per year in forest protection. Total’s announcement comes shortly after similar announcements by Shell and Eni to offset some of their emissions with forest conservation projects.
Republic of Congo to get US$65 million from the Central African Forest Initiative. Will it stop deforestation? Not a chance
Last week, the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, flew to Paris in a hired Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the most luxurious planes in the world. Le Figaro estimates that a one-way flight from Brazzaville to Paris would cost about US$500,000. Needless to say, Sassou Nguesso’s wife, Antoinette, travelled with him.