Page 70 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 23
P. 70

The Environment



          ecosystems and threaten coastal    and Indigenous Peoples are
          communities.”                      disproportionately impacted        Total’s offsetting project in the
                                             by these false solutions, fossil   Republic of Congo has taken
          Anuradha Mittal, Executive         fuel industry extraction and the   land from farmers and threatens
          Director of the Oakland            increasing impacts of climate      their livelihoods.
          Institute: “At COP28, world        change. More carbon markets,
          leaders and climate negotiators    offsets and removals must not      Communities living within the
          need to recognize once and for     be considered as solutions.        Alto Mayo REDD+ project in
          all that carbon markets are a      Over 20 years of history with      Peru were violently evicted
          failed source of climate finance.   offsets have resulted in the      from their homes in a series of
          They are volatile and unstable,    rights of Indigenous Peoples       clearances by park authorities.
          marked by fraud, incapable         being violated, increased land
          of reducing emissions, and         grabbing, and disproportionate     The African Forestry Impact
          actually harm communities. We      impacts on Indigenous              Platform recently acquired
          cannot afford to waste any more    environmental defenders. The       Green Resources, a Norwegian
          time on this false solution. The   false solutions will become a      plantation forestry and carbon
          world urgently needs alternative   crime against humanity and         credit company with a history
          ways to drive climate action,      Mother Earth.”                     of land grabbing, human rights
          because carbon markets have                                           violations, and environmental
          failed.”                            –ends–                            destruction across Uganda,
                                                                                Mozambique, and Tanzania.
          Jose Bravo of Just Transition      NOTES
          Alliance said: “Pollution
          trading and offset schemes have    Some examples of harm to local     Some examples of fraud and
          only served to line the coffers    communities from carbon offset     trade in phantom credits:
          of the world’s largest polluting   projects:
          corporations. To regain any                                           Described as a “Cash-for-
          credibility following this COP     Nearly half of the offsets         Carbon Hustle” by the New
          28 facade, the UNFCCC              purchased by Chevron               Yorker, South Pole’s Kariba
          needs to move away from            are linked to claims or            REDD project in Zimbabwe
          such polluter subsidies and        allegations of inflicting harm     raised at least $100 million in
          start following the leadership     on communities and spurring        carbon credits before collapsing
          of frontline workers and           degradation of ecosystems,         in scandal in October 2023.
          communities who are forging        particularly in the Global
          just transition pathways based     South or on the climate crisis      A 2023 study found that the
          on real climate solutions.”        frontlines.                        majority of the world’s leading
                                                                                carbon offset projects could be
          Tom Goldtooth, Executive            A global map of carbon offset     categorized as “likely junk”,
          Director of the Indigenous         projects from the past five        while another, looking at the
          Environmental Network,             years shows 72% causing            world’s leading carbon offset
          said: “A global phase out          harm to Indigenous or local        certifier, found that “most
          of fossil fuels at source          communities.                       credits probably don’t represent
          should be priority at this UN                                         any climate benefit.”
          conference on climate, not          A refuse-derived fuel project in
          more carbon markets, offsets,      Kerala, India, set up to generate    A study by Mongabay and
          pricing and removals. Article      carbon credits, is poisoning the   the New Humanitarian found
          6 of the Paris Agreement           air of the densely populated       that the UN’s carbon neutrality
          gives a free pass to polluters     surrounding villages.              claims rely largely on carbon




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