The No REDD in Africa network on 31st March 2025 held a webinar to mark the 2025 International day of Forest with the theme Forest and Food and also to discuss a topical research carried out by the network. The critical aim of this webinar was to clearly expose the spread of false solutions on the continent especially REDD, REDD+ with many other carbon offsets and markets schemes.
The webinar was attended by over 43 participants from 13 countries from across the world.
The research, which was presented strongly advocates against REDD, REDD+ and all its other variants as it shows the drastic consequential implications of implemented, ongoing and proposed projects on the continent.
Highlights of the Webinar
- Green financialization fueling green extractivism is intensifying extractivist model of development in African countries.
- Plantations are not forests, and the concept of Blue carbon should be interrogated and resisted.
- There is an intentional effort to disposes and exploit Africa and this is seen in the unequal and devalued pricing of carbon markets.
- While REDD is already a huge threat ,there are several other new emerging threats such as The Tropical Forests Forever Facility which has been labeled the Worst Conservation fund ever.The Tropical Forests Forever Facility: “The worst conservation fund ever?”
- Socio-environmental impacts and implications of REDD+ in Africa are exacerbating green grabbing, green extractivism and expropriation of emission rights.
- The major actors, funders and promoters of REDD and other similar interventions are Oil companies which are the major polluters key example is Blue Carbon(a UAE company)https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/22/climate/uae-cop28-adnoc-fossil-fuels-expansion-climate-intl/index.html.
- Over 8million dollars have been invested in REDD /REDD+ type projects on the continent with no evidence of emission reduction.
- REDD+ implications in Africa are underreported and shrouded in secrecy and unaccountability
- There should be a global campaign of Red Card for REDD which will expose all the reasons why REDD should be totally disqualified and disregarded as a climate solution.
Many comments from the participants highlighted the unchecked corruption which the REDD scheme allows emphasizing that there many incidences where the biggest promoters of carbon offsets schemes such as REDD are being investigated for fraud and embezzlement, an example is Mandy Rambharos. A discredited ex climate official with Eskom, who now recently emerged as the primary huckster of offsets under Verra (a questionable institution), which she is the CEO https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-08-carbon-offset-theres-more-than-meets-the-eye-in-climate-fight/. Also another important fact highlighted during the webinar was the notable disfavourable pricing of African “Carbon” as against the carbon from other parts of the world which suggest that African Carbon is considered inferior in quality , a notable quote from Ecosystem marketplace states “financial support for forests is a constant challenge: REDD+ carbon credits continue to trade at less than $10 per ton, far below the $30-50/ton that UNEP estimates is the actual cost of large-scale, high-integrity forest protection.” https://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/articles/commentaryno-more-price-takers-five-disruptive-ideas-for-fair-value-for-forests/ and https://blog.dclimate.net/decoding-redd-prices-country-risk-project-quality-and-credits-
One of the participants Prof Patrick Bond when sharing explained that even the more ‘mature’ market of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme were still utterly chaotic and highly unstable, with a price of emitting a tonne of Carbon having fallen 50% from Feb 2023 to Feb 2024, and with the current price still way below its peak of $110/tonne, he emphasized that even though we have so much more evidence of Loss & Damage which even the World Economic Forum agrees with, it is interesting to note that that doesn’t stop the market price from falling. Just this year 2025 the market has already fallen from $85/tonne to $68/tonne and according to predictions the future even seems bleaker. This raised the question of whether our African institutions and governments are well equipped to protect the continent and stop the inherently colonial financial markets which have historically been implicit in the impoverishment of Africa.
Mr Kwami Kpondzo a member of the Global Forest Coalition while speaking, described REDD as an illusion which trumps on smokes and screens with no real value. This is also clearly highlighted in this writeup https://globalforestcoalition.org/redd-climate-illusion/. There were suggestions for further collaboration with popular news media to get the message out to the Global North, transnational conglomerates and governments as the issues of Carbon markets including offsets are becoming increasingly worrisome especially with the emergence of BRICS regimes which are generally more accommodating of these false solutions. It was highlighted judging from the way most of the BRICS regimes were accommodating towards the carbon markets including offset because they see it as a way of income generation, COP30 is heading towards being a disaster especially as it will have an Amazon Legitimation.
The session was very elucidating and participants left enlightened with knowledge to resist , refuse and reject REDD and all other false solutions.