Addressing the Issues

What are REDD Projects?

REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. REDD is a carbon market-based mechanism to prevent the logging of forests and replace the income from the logging with an income from the earning of carbon credits. The carbon credits are awarded from protecting the forests and as a result stopping the carbon emissions that are released from forest deforestation and degradation.

How are REDD credits awarded?

The only carbon credits that can be awarded are those that have been certified by, validated, verified and registered, under credible independent International Standards bodies such as the Voluntary Carbon Association (VCA), which operates the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS). VCS carbon credits or Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs) must be held in a VCS approved independent carbon registry. VCS projects can also be certified to meet the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard which is operated by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) and the Social Carbon Standard operated by the Ecologica Institute and Social Carbon organisation.

There is not yet any formal mechanism for trading REDD so how can formal REDD projects exist?

No country in the world has formal REDD rules approved and implemented yet and the world is counting on negotiations at Copenhagen this coming December to formalise much of the REDD project rules such that REDD credits will, with some luck and political will, be able to be used in part to meet countries' national emissions targets.

In the meantime there are organisations like the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), the Social Carbon Standard (SCS), and the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) operated by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) who have pushed ahead to define comprehensive mechanisms by which project developers can begin developing REDD style projects that produce carbon credits that can be traded in the voluntary carbon markets (i.e. to parties that want to reduce emissions but that do not have formal emissions targets imposed upon them).

Although the PNG REDD Pilot Projects will initially be developed and accredited as REDD projects under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard (CCBS), the pilot projects are being developed in a manner that is consistent with UN REDD requirements and rules and to assist in development of PNG REDD Policy. Moreover, as part of the VCS and CCBS accreditation process, ongoing consultation and engagement with the landowners is required prior to project implementation and during project operation as well as in regard to the distribution of project revenues.

What's the rush? Why can't we just wait for a formal scheme to be put in place?

Every minute of every day an area of rainforest the size of a standard football field is destroyed. Deforestation accounts for nearly 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Many people who work in logging camps are kept in virtual slavery. Delays to these projects cost lives, money and the health of the planet. Every month of delay means more lives lost, more forests removed, species wiped out, and more environmental harm to clean up later. It takes a new forest 100 years to capture back the CO2 from an existing forest.

Where are REDD projects being developed?

REDD projects are being developed in South East Asian, South American, and African countries. In fact any country with tropical rainforests that are under threat has the potential to develop REDD projects to protect their forests.

Who is developing REDD projects?

There are numerous organisations that are known as "project developers" that are developing REDD projects. They range from banks, private investors, private developers, non-government organisations (NGOs) and governments. The type of project developers involved is often dependent on the land tenure or ownership status in the REDD nation.

What is Carbon Planet's role in REDD projects?

Carbon Planet has been contracted by a number of project developers in several countries. Our role is that of a service provider, with primary responsibilities of providing the scientific services that result in the certification of the projects and the awarding of the carbon credits. Carbon Planet is also contracted to market and sell the carbon credits on behalf of the project developers and landowners.

How long has Carbon Planet been working on REDD projects?

Carbon Planet was first approached by several project developers in 2007.

Has Carbon Planet invested in REDD projects?

Carbon Planet has assisted some project developers with project finance to help develop REDD projects. Carbon Planet has, to date, not directly invested in the projects.

Why is Carbon Planet interested in creating REDD projects?

Carbon Planet's mission is to enable any business or individual on the planet to manage their contribution to climate change. Our short-term goal is to "be responsible for reducing excess atmospheric emissions by 1% by the end of 2010". In essence we are here to try and help save the world from global warming.

So, why are we interested in REDD?

1. REDD offers our greatest opportunity for mitigating climate change.
2. REDD offers an unprecedented opportunity to provide choices and sustainable livelihoods for indigenous forest communities.

This is the key to sustainable development. For over twenty years the world has been attempting to find a way to implement sustainable development.

"Sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations for a better life. A world in which poverty is endemic will always be prone to ecological and other catastrophes." - Our Common Future (1987), United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (Bruntland Report)

REDD, executed properly, offers the world an opportunity for real sustainable development.

Of those living on less than $1 per day, it is estimated that 90% are dependent on forests to some extent for their livelihood. Poverty is one of the major drivers of deforestation. It is essential for us to understand that the indigenous landowners of tropical rainforests around the world will continue to sell off their forests to timber companies for income that is not sustainable even though these are forests that they depend on for their food, shelter and spiritual beliefs.

REDD projects allow indigenous landowners to conserve their forests whilst providing them with a sustainable income. In essence, REDD projects finally recognise, in a financial sense, the enormous environmental or ecosystem services that these forests provide the world.

If there is to be a carbon offset scheme, shouldn't it be directly with the people that OWN the forests concerned? Why should 'brokers' or Governments get the money?

It's a very difficult thing building a successful REDD project and very few organisations in the world have the skills, the science, the money and the motivation to put such a project together properly and to get it registered with the VCS or CCBS, and to then sell those VCS credits in a time of financial uncertainty. We've been working on this and other projects for two years, spending our own money to make sure the projects are done properly.

Carbon Planet is committed to the idea that the indigenous landowners should be paid properly for the environmental services their forests provide, and that the income from those services should be greater than the income otherwise obtained by tearing those forests up.

For the project to succeed, and for the indigenous landowners to receive a sustainable income as the rightful owners of the forests, local government and national government support is required, as are project developers with the skills and the resources to bring the project to a commercial reality.

If REDD projects are so complex, do the land owners fully understand the process? Is there an education programme component to the REDD projects?

Yes. Stakeholder consultation and education is a key requirement of certification under the Voluntary Carbon Standard and Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard. The project must demonstrate that it has been undertaken with the full and informed consent of the indigenous landowners to achieve certification. To this end, Carbon Planet has a comprehensive program in place to ensure we engage, inform and educate the rightful owners of the forests.

Carbon Planet in Papua New Guinea

What is the status of REDD projects in PNG?

Papua New Guinea has, for some time, had contracts in place with international timber companies and other resource companies enabling them to harvest the indigenous rainforests. Indigenous landowners signed over their timber rights to the Papua New Guinean Government who in turn offered these landowner areas as timber concession areas to timber companies to harvest or leased the landowner's areas to resource companies to extract other resources such as gold, oil or gas. The process whereby the landowners agree to assign the timber rights to their land to the Government is known as the Forest Management Agreement (FMA) Process. A Forest Management Agreement (FMA) is signed by the landowners and the PNG Government. Landowners receive royalties from the timber concession holding company for timber harvested, or from the resource company for minerals extracted from their land.

The royalties represented income for some members of the indigenous community. However, management practice standards in the timber and resource industries in Papua New Guinea have been less than ideal, resulting in deleterious environmental and social impacts locally.

However, Papua New Guinea has taken the lead in identifying the important role rainforests play in providing ecosystem services to the global and local community with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare calling for and establishing the Coalition for Rainforest Nations with the objective of forested tropical countries collaborating to reconcile forest stewardship with economic development.

What about the so-called "fake" carbon credit certificates the press has reported?

As at September 7, 2009, to the best of our knowledge, no "fake" carbon credit certificates have been created.

In mid 2008 the Office of Climate Change (who is the Designated National Authority (DNA) who authorises carbon market activities) created a "symbolic REDD credit certificate" as a sample certificate with no commercial value.

Carbon Planet has had no involvement with them; we understand the certificates were an internal sample produced by the Office of Climate Change not for any commercial use or purpose. The "REDD credit certificates" were not intended as anything but a symbolic reference of a REDD credit certificate.

The only REDD credits or carbon credits that can be awarded are those that have been, validated, verified and registered or certified, under credible independent international standards or bodies such as the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), and the issued certified VCS credits known as Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs) must be held in an independent carbon registry approved by the VCS. VCS REDD projects may also be certified under the Community Climate Biodiversity Standard (CCBS) of the Community Climate Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA).

As far as selling bogus carbon credit certificates, since we were founded in 2000, Carbon Planet has never, and will never sell any carbon credits that haven't been properly certified by a third party carbon certification body and held in an independent carbon credit registry. In fact, we are one of the only carbon retailers that sells properly certified carbon credits and transfers ownership to all buyers via an independent carbon registry account.

I've purchased carbon credits from Carbon Planet in the past, are my carbon credits okay?

Carbon Planet has only ever retailed and wholesaled carbon credits certified by reputable third party carbon credit certification bodies. This means that you can be sure that they were legally created, that payment reached rightful stakeholders, and that they represent real and additional carbon benefits. Furthermore, unlike most other carbon credit retailers, you retain legal ownership of the carbon credit once purchased.

Did Carbon Planet pay $1.2m to the PNG Government to either buy carbon credits or be awarded projects?