Current rainforest protection carbon credit schemes are “not fit for purpose” and lead the door open to exploitation, an investigation conducted by 14 University of Berkeley researchers and funded by the non-profit Carbon Market Watch (CMW) has found. 

The researchers looked at the impact of rainforest carbon credits certified by Verra, which operates the world’s leading carbon standard. Their conclusions – first reported by The Guardian – stressed the need for a new approach to carbon offsetting that will better protect rainforest ecosystems, such as the Amazon and the Congo Basin. 

“An in-depth study of the main methodologies used by REDD+ forest conservation projects has exposed a series of shortcomings that allow project owners to stretch reality and create a vast quantity of carbon credits for projects that have questionable climate impacts,” CMW said. 

The researchers assessed five features of Verra’s rainforest carbon credit system, known as REDD...