The article “The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle” highlights the story of South Pole, the largest carbon-offsetting firm, and how it used paper credits to defraud its clients and undermine the integrity of carbon markets. The article also discusses the challenges of verifying the effectiveness of carbon-offsetting projects and the potential for these projects to have unintended consequences.

A statement from Verra, an organization involved in the voluntary carbon market, in response to a New Yorker article “The Great Cash-for-Carbon Hustle” raising questions about the carbon-offsetting firm South Pole and the Kariba project in Zimbabwe. Verra welcomes scrutiny of the market and is committed to transparency and continuous improvement. They are initiating an investigation into the Kariba project and ensuring the integrity of their programs. The statement also highlights the importance of carbon markets in achieving global climate goals.

The updated BeZero article, originally published on January 31st, 2023, explains why it has placed Kariba REDD+ on a rating watch.

Shell has abandoned its specific spending and volume targets for carbon offsets, also referred to as nature-based solutions (NBS), as stated by Chief Executive Wael Sawan during the Energy Intelligence Forum. Previously, Shell had articulated intentions to invest approximately $100 million annually in offsets and utilize credits amounting to up to 120 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2030.

ICROA endorses BioCarbon Registry standards. 29 registered projects, 23 projects in process of registration. 42.6 million Verified carbon credits issued. 30.3 retired