Climate warning

Lying to get indigenous community cede their forest rights, a new practice of credit carbon companies?

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Marine Stephan

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FICO

Climate warning
Violation of indigenous rights, lies, commercial fraud, and unproven methodologies… Welcome to the wonderful world of (some) carbon credit companies. After the Verra scandal that revealed that 94% of its rainforest carbon offsets had no benefit to the climate, you would expect that carbon offset and carbon credit companies will do better and become more sustainable. Well… spoiler: no, they did not. An investigation by Mongabay shows that several companies, including the Foreign Investment Company (FICO) in Panama, have falsely claimed UN endorsement to persuade Indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia, and Panama to cede the economic rights to their forests for extended periods. These companies promised Indigenous communities jobs and local development projects in exchange for allowing more than 9.5 million hectares of forests to be put on the market. The problem? They not only lied regarding the endorsement by the UN (which is what made indigenous communities sign the contracts), but the efficiency of their methodology hasn’t been proven and the companies lack a demonstrated track record in sustainable finance projects. So yes, this means that indigenous communities –who acted as guardians for these critical ecosystems– have now lost their rights over 9.5 million hectares of forests. And, yes, it does mean that companies that don't hesitate to lie and refuse to reveal their methodology and prove their efficiency are now managing these 9.5 million hectares of forests. I am not saying that the methodology they use is bad, nor am I saying that these carbon credits are bad. What I am saying is simply that if a company needs to lie to get access to lands, it means that this company isn’t as great as it claims to be! We need regulations to limit abuses of the sustainable finance industry against indigenous communities! How can such companies call themselves and their practices sustainable?
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Read the full investigation on Mongabay:
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/01/false-claims-of-u-n-backing-see-indigenous-groups-cede-forest-rights-for-sketchy-finance/



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