Sapo National Park in Liberia. Under a deal now being negotiated, Blue Carbon would sell carbon credits from the park. EVAN BOWEN-JONES / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

For the decade during which the market for carbon credits has been on our radar, concerns about credibility have been lurking. Now this:

In New Scramble for Africa, an Arab Sheikh Is Taking the Lead

A company established by a Dubai sheikh is finalizing agreements with African nations to manage vast tracts of their forests and sell the carbon credits. Critics are concerned the deals will not benefit Africans and will just help foreign governments perpetuate high emissions.

A forest in Mbire, Zimbabwe that is generating carbon credits. Blue Carbon has signed a memorandum of understanding with Zimbabwe to sell carbon credits from its woodlands. CYNTHIA R. MATONHODZE / BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES

A prominent sheikh in the oil-rich Gulf state hosting this year’s UN climate negotiations, COP28, is heading a new rush to capture and sell carbon credits by managing tens of millions of acres of forests across Africa. Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, a member of the royal family of Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), wants to sell those credits to rich governments in the Gulf and elsewhere, so they can offset their carbon emissions to help them meet their carbon pledges under the 2015 Paris Agreement. Continue reading →