Blue Carbon and the New Scramble for Africa’s Forests

Blue Carbon sign on 29 November 2023 To the Parties of the UNFCCC and Members of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body Blue Carbon and the New Scramble for Africa’s Forests As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prepares to host the crucial COP28 climate summit, a company run by one of the oil-producing country’s royal family is acquiring vast areas of forest in Africa, in order to generate controversial ca. [...] [1] The draft contract specifies that of the value of each carbon credit created, the Government of Liberia gets 10 % in royalties. [...] When a credit gets sold on the carbon market 70 % of the selling price (minus the costs generated to create the credits) goes to Blue Carbon and 30 % to the Government of Liberia for the first ten years. [...] There is clear evidence that the best way to protect forests is to recognise the rights of the people living in these forests. [...] With Parties due to agree on the rules for trading carbon in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, we call upon all Parties to reject the inclusion of ‘avoided emissions’ credits.