A two day meeting is currently taking place at the Columbia Law School in New York of the Private Sector Advisory Group to the Green Climate Fund. On the agenda is the Green Climate Fund’s funding of forestry projects.
USA
There are 156 posts filed in USA (this is page 2 of 11).
Has EcoPlanet Bamboo really found a buyer for its bamboo in Nicaragua?
On 19 April 2018, a company called BAP Industries of Guatemala announced that it had signed a 10 year Bamboo Purchase Agreement with EcoPlanet Bamboo. Under the agreement, BAP Industries agreed to buy bamboo from EcoPlanet Bamboo’s plantations in Nicaragua.
London High Court orders Capital Alternatives to repay £16.9 million. New York Southern District Court orders Bar Works and Bitcoin Store to pay US$83.35 million
Capital Alternatives Limited was part of a network of scam companies that offered “investments” to the general public including a rice farm in Sierra Leone, and carbon credits from projects in Sierra Leone, Brazil, and Australia. Last week, the High Court in London found that these “investments” were illegal collective investment schemes.
The Kariba REDD project in Zimbabwe: From carbon credits to EARTH tokens
The Kariba REDD+ Project covers an area of 784,987 hectares in four districts of northwestern Zimbabwe. The project started in July 2011, and aims to generate almost 52 million carbon credits from reduced deforestation over its 30-year project life. The project is certified under the VCS and Climate Community and Biodiversity Standard systems.
Responses from Terra Global Capital, VCS, and Wildlife Works to Fern’s report, “Unearned credit: Why aviation industry forest offsets are doomed to fail”
In November 2017, Fern published a report titled, “Unearned credit: Why aviation industry forest offsets are doomed to fail”. The report takes aim at the aviation industry’s planned carbon trading mechanism, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.
Asia Beijing Corporation is running a recovery room scam, targeting Bar Works victims
Asia Beijing Corporation is cold calling victims of Renwick Haddow’s scam, Bar Works. Asia Beijing Corporation claims to be able to “exchange the toxic asset” for shares in Ant Financial Services Group. Of course, Asia Beijing Corporation is running a ridiculously obvious recovery room scam.
Renwick Haddow and Bar Works: Extradition process and court cases update
Last year, REDD-Monitor wrote a series of posts about Renwick Haddow’s latest scam, Bar Works. The most recent post was in July 2017, after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a legal complaint against Haddow. The complaint alleged that Haddow fraudulently raised almost US$38 million from investors.
Jerry Brown tells indigenous activists at COP23: “Let’s put you in the ground so we can get on with the show here”
California’s governor, Jerry Brown, travelled to Bonn for COP23. On 11 November 2017, he launched “America’s Pledge”, a proposal for states, municipalities and businesses to meet the US commitments under the Paris Agreement. Brown’s presentation was interrupted by climate justice protesters, including indigenous people, chanting “Keep it in the ground”.
Response from Kevin Conrad: “The objective simply is to register a REDD+ logo to distinguish REDD+ actions that are compliant with UNFCCC decisions”
Earlier today, REDD-Monitor wrote a post about the Coalition for Rainforest Nations’ application to register “REDD+” as a trademark. The post ended with a series of questions for Kevin Conrad, the Executive Director of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations.
Kevin Conrad, Federica Bietta, the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, and an application to register “REDD+” as a trademark
Kevin Conrad is the Executive Director of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations. He’s currently in Bonn at COP23, the United Nations climate conference, as part of the delegation of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In May 2017, the Coalition for Rainforest Nations Secretariat put in an application to register “REDD+” as a trademark in the USA.
California’s forest offsets do not address climate change
A recent paper published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment asks, “Are forest offsets an effective way to address climate change, and do they provide other benefits?”
Environmental racism and cap-and-trade in California
In July 2017, California voted to extend its cap-and-trade scheme until 2030. Some environmental groups and the oil and gas industry support the legislation. Environmental justice groups oppose it. This post summarises some of the responses to the continuation of cap-and-trade in California.
California governor Jerry Brown wins cap-and-trade vote and increases oil industry hand-outs
On 17 July 2017, California’s Assembly and Senate voted to extend the state’s cap-and-trade legislation until 2030. AB 398, written with the help of the oil industry, passed with two-thirds majorities in both chambers. Environmental justice groups opposed the bill, because it gives away far to much to the big oil and gas companies, and does too little to address the pollution that affects vulnerable communities in California.
United States of America versus Renwick Haddow
On 30 June 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a legal complaint against Renwick Haddow. The SEC alleges that Haddow fraudulently raised almost US$38 million from investors. The SEC has obtained an emergency asset freeze against Haddow and his companies named in the complaint.
Governor Jerry Brown is working with the oil industry on California’s climate policy
California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) expires in 2020. California’s governor, Jerry Brown, is holding a series of closed-door negotiations with the fossil fuel industry to re-write California’s climate change policy for the period 2021 to 2030.