Barbara Haya, a research fellow with CITRIS Climate and the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) and director of the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project, recently led an assessment of rainforest carbon credits and found that the current system is unsuitable for carbon offsetting, despite extensive usage among corporations and governments.
Her team’s research concluded that these projects downplay the risk of displacing deforestation and, in some cases, prompt the dispossession of Indigenous communities. Instead, their report recommends that organizations change their focus to curbing drivers of deforestation and supporting conservation efforts.
“An entirely different approach is needed to reduce deforestation and cut emissions,” said Haya.