(December 6, 2009) The global carbon credit market will grow in leaps and bounds if government leaders attending this week’s climate change conference in Copenhagen commit to stiffer reduction targets for CO2 emissions. The value of the carbon market—currently worth as much as $126-billion—may grow to as much as $1.9 trillion by 2020.
Carbon Credit Database
(December 2, 2009) The carbon credit market is quickly turning into one of the largest markets in the global economy. And as governments continue to step up their efforts to combat climate change, they’re increasingly turning to carbon credits as a means to do so.
Will old media cover global warming scandal?
(November 23, 2009) The blogosphere is abuzz with news of the latest global warming scandal. A latter day “Daniel Ellsberg” has released the climate equivalent of the Pentagon Papers onto the web.
Three Gorges Dam is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions
(October 14, 2009) The operators of the Three Gorges dam may soon have to answer to criticisms over its environmental credentials, as a recent study in the Journal of Geophysical Research says the marshlands created during the draining of the dam’s reservoir may be major a emitter of greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon credit scams add to the growing list of alleged fraud cases
(October 6, 2009) Officials in at least five European countries are investigating an international carbon credit scam considered to be worth more than $1.5 billion. According to a recent report for the Guardian, the scam was originally coordinated by gangs in Britain and Spain who bought and sold emissions allowances across borders in order to avoid paying Value Added Tax (VAT).
Earning money from air by harvesting carbon
(October 6, 2009) There are signs that nascent Redd projects are already leading to social conflict, possible fraud and worsening land disputes.
More money, more problems: The World Bank’s way
(September 25, 2009) In the wake of recent financial crisis, the World Bank called on the developed world to drastically increase lending to developing nations. Robert Zoellick and company say that countries in Africa and other parts of the developing world need this money to combat rising levels of poverty and an economic collapse.
Who to blame? UN wants to make auditors of carbon credit projects liable for their work
(September 21, 2009) The UN’s new plan to help regulate the carbon market will make auditors liable for their work, writes Brady Yauch.
More odious debts for the Democratic Republic of Congo if the World Bank gets its way
World Bank President Robert Zoellick is urging the Democratic Republic of Congo to pursue better governance as a way to entice more companies to build dams in the country. In his sights are the rehabilitation of the notoriously dysfunctional Inga 1 and 2 dams. But it’s projects like these that will create more odious debts for the country’s citizens.
At what cost are carbon credits funding hydro projects in the developing world
(August 7, 2009) The Carbon Development Mechanism (CDM), a market-based tool developed by the UN to cut green house gas emissions, may be heralding a boon in hydro development projects in China and the developing world – and doing so at the cost of the environment and local landowners. As policy makers and environmentalists across the globe prepare for the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this winter, criticisms of carbon credit schemes like the CDM are begining to surface.
Carbon credit fraud in the UK
(August 6, 2009) A recent article in the Telegraph examines the rise in UK tax fraud in carbon emissions trading market. The scheme is a variation on the VAT carousel fraud, where criminals import products VAT-free from EU member states, then sell the goods in the UK with a VAT charge, only to quickly disappear without turning over the VAT charge to the UK’s customs and tax department, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.
MOZAMBIQUE: Biofuel companies line up for land and carbon credits
(March 6, 2009) Despite shrinking demand for biofuels globally, the government of Mozambique may soon grant millions of hectares of land to biofuel developers chasing UN-brokered carbon credits.
How Kyoto credit scams work
(January 27, 2009) In another striking expose of carbon credit lunacy, AP reporters Joe McDonald and Charles Hanley report that a German coal-fired utility is buying “carbon credits” from a Chinese hydro dam, displacing thousands of poor farmers in the process, driving up electricity costs in Germany, and yet doing nothing for the environment.
Backgrounder: A roundup up of Carbon Fraud reports
(January 8, 2009) A roundup up of stories, reports, and other coverage of fraud in carbon markets.
A Great Wall of carbon credits
(January 8, 2009) BADALING, CHINA – A bitter wind knifes down the Great Wall of China and through a stand of smoketrees, Chinese pine, maidenhair and Shantung maple.
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