Hilarious!
(if you know a thing or two about carbon offset markets).

well-played

Row erupts over Verra’s ‘Avoided Baby’ carbon credits REDD-Monitor received the following anonymous Guest Post this morning:

"Avoided baby credits."

Whatever next?

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/row-erupts...

How an Indonesian Pulp Giant Built a Carbon Project to Save a Forest From Itself A months-long investigation into APRIL Group’s flagship Riau Ecosytem Restoration reveals how its carbon project was built on a hypothetical deforestation threat that is unlikely to materialize.

My post is based on superb investigative journalism by @adirenaldi.bsky.social in The Diplomat:

thediplomat.com/2026/03/how-...

Greenwashing destruction: APRIL’s Kampar Peninsula REDD project in Indonesia Will Verra approve millions more fake carbon credits?

I wrote a post on REDD-Monitor about APRIL's Kampar Peninsula REDD project based on @adirenaldi.bsky.social's reporting yesterday:

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/greenwashi...

This is brilliant reporting! @adirenaldi.bsky.social spent months digging through project developer reports - including the 404-page-long(!) Project Description Document - as well as talking to experts and the companies involved.

Greenwashing destruction: APRIL’s Kampar Peninsula REDD project in Indonesia Will Verra approve millions more fake carbon credits?

APRIL is one of the most destructive pulp and paper companies anywhere in the world.

The destruction continues, but for years APRIL has been developing a REDD project on the Kampar Peninsula.

Will Verra (yet again) approve millions of fake carbon credits?

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/greenwashi...

REDD myth no. 7: “Carbon markets can be fixed” “The offset industry, riddled with conflicts of interest, is not fixable."

“First, the industry is based on a set of assumptions that do not match scientific reality. Second, the offset industry is riddled with serious conflicts of interest, which are inherent to the system.”

Myth: “Carbon markets can be fixed” - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...

REDDisms: March 2026 This is the fifth in REDD-Monitor’s occasional series of REDDisms. Each post consists of ten quotations, nine of which are recent and one of which comes from my collection of REDDisms dating back to 2...

REDD-Monitor's latest collection of the things people say about climate change, carbon trading, food, and REDD.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/reddisms-m...

Billionaires aren't going to save the planet: Bill Gates and Rutger Bregman Featuring a defence of Arthur Dent.

A look at Rutger Bregman's promotion of the myth of the "good billionaire".

Featuring a defence of Arthur Dent.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/billionair...

Spoiler: Not so good.

The Tropical Forest Forever Facility beat goes on With more questions than answers.

At the launch of the TFFF in November 2025, President Lula said, "In just a few years, we will begin to see the fruits of this fund."

Four months later, how's that prediction looking?

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-tropic...

Forests mean life, not “business” The FAO’s message for the International Day of Forests “deepens ecological and social harm”.

On the International Day of Forests, a counter to the FAO's message:

Forests mean life, not "business"

@gfc-forest.bsky.social @environmentalpaper.bsky.social @fao.org

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/forests-me...

Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office files lawsuits against three of Ricardo Stoppe Júnior’s REDD projects in Amazonas MPF is calling for the cancellation of all carbon credits from the Evergreen REDD project, the Fortaleza Ituxi REDD project, and the Unitor REDD project.

Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed civil lawsuits against three REDD project in Amazonas for violating the rights of Indigenous and traditional communities.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/brazils-fe...

Sham Presidential Commissions in Tanzania recommend mass evictions of Indigenous Maasai from Ngorongoro Conservation Area “If these extremely biased and reckless recommendations are implemented, it will be the end of our people in Ngorongoro.”

Tanzania is planning to evict tens of thousands of Indigenous Maasai from their homes and territories.

Instead of upholding the Maasai's rights, two recent Presidential Commissions recommend their mass eviction from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/sham-presi...

FIFA, the World Cup, Saudi Arabia, Big Polluters, and junk carbon credits Oh, and DelAgua, yet another carbon trading company incorporated in a tax haven.

FIFA, the World Cup, Saudi Arabia, Big Polluters, & junk carbon credits - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...

How a US$29.5 million deal failed to deliver a single carbon credit. Featuring Zero Carbon Holdings, Four Thirteen, Aspiration Partners, Sea Purity Investments, and MidiaGeo And two very iffy-looking REDD projects in Brazil: The Zero Carbon Aripuanã Valley REDD project 1; and the 413 REDD project.

An insight into a REDD carbon credit deal gone wrong - thanks to US court documents.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/how-a-us29...

Outgrowing offsetting: “Offsetting is the wrong way to think about climate action altogether — pastoralism exposes why” New policy brief from the IYRP Global Alliance Working Group on Pastoralism and Carbon Markets.

2026 is the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

The IYRP Global Alliance Working Group on Pastoralism and Carbon Markets recently published a policy brief titled “Outgrowing offsetting”.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/outgrowing...

REDD myth no. 6: “Carbon markets are climate finance” The reality is that carbon markets are diverting money away from the Global South.

“The reality is ‘the climate funding gap’ is a myth put forward by Big Polluters & the conservation industry that hopes to profit from neoliberal false solutions to the biodiversity & climate crises.”

- @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...

Verra suspended the Pacajai REDD project in September 2023. Companies have retired more than 2 million carbon credits from the project since then Including Mastercard, BlackRock, and Philip Morris.

🚨 In September 2023, Verra suspended the Pacajai REDD project in Brazil.

💻 Since then, more than 2 million carbon credits from the Pacajai project were retired.

🔥 The project as unlikely to have any positive impact in reducing net carbon emissions.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/verra-susp...

Thanks Forrest!

This is a really great interview about our recent work. Thanks @reddmonitor.bsky.social for covering us!

“The dynamics of social-ecological systems pose a fundamental challenge to attributing changes in carbon stocks to actions taken by carbon offset projects.” Interview with Dr. Pushpendra Rana “The challenge is not simply poor measurement, weak data, or the absence of improved methodologies.”

I interviewed Pushpendra Rana about his recent paper "Why carbon offsets may fail in complex systems: A causal inference perspective".
The paper, written with @forrestf.bsky.social and Amit Sharma argues that the problems with carbon offsets cannot be fixed.
reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-dynami...

Good point - the 20% cut is in international climate finance.

How the UK government suppressed, then ignored, its own report on how ecosystem collapse threatens national security Instead of increasing support to protect ecosystems, the UK government is cutting climate finance.

In October 2025, the UK government blocked publication of a "global ecosystem assessment" report.

The report was released in January 2026 following a freedom of information request.

The government has ignored the report - and cut climate finance by 20%.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/how-the-uk...

REDD myth no. 5: “Carbon offsets reduce emissions” The reality is that to achieve real emissions reductions, carbon offsetting has to end.

“& here’s the reality: Carbon credits allow companies to claim to be reducing their emissions while continuing to pollute. The reductions are on paper, while the emissions go into the atmosphere.”

“Carbon offsets reduce emissions” - @reddmonitor.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/reddmoni...

Article 6 carbon credits would allow the EU to emit 50% more greenhouse gas emissions in 2040 According to a policy brief by the NewClimate Institute.

A recent report by @newclimate.bsky.social takes a look at the impact of using Article 6 carbon credits in the EU's emissions trading system.

The answer? 50% more greenhouse gas emissions in 2040, compared to a scenario without the use of carbon credits.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/article-6-...

“Entire communities now live in fear and despair.” How the Tanzanian government profits from tourism while cracking down on Indigenous Peoples in Ruaha National Park The World Bank’s failure to address breaches of its policies is “beyond shameful”.

The @oaklandinstitute.org reports that Tanzanian government is cracking down on Indigenous Peoples in the name of conservation.

Luxury safari tourism is booming.

While communities live in "fear and despair".

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/entire-com...

Malawi has signed a 40-year contract with Portuguese engineering firm Mota-Engil to generate carbon credits from 550,000 hectares of the country’s forests Trafigura will market the carbon credits.

If people want to convince me that land based carbon markets have potential, please no more projects like this one, in which only 5% of the money from the sale goes to the local communities... reddmonitor.substack.com/p/malawi-has...

The Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary REDD project in Cambodia is threatened by mining operations and a hydropower dam Excellent reporting from Mongabay exposes the threats to wildlife, ecosystems, and communities.

Another REDD project in Cambodia that is threatened by a hydropower dam.

And a series of mining operations that are already underway.

My post is based on great reporting by Cory Hobbs and Eung Sea for @mongabay.com.

reddmonitor.substack.com/p/the-lompha...