On September 23, Verra took the unprecedented step of unilaterally cancelling all verified carbon credits issued to Zimbabwe’s Kariba REDD+ project following the completion of an “in-depth review”. The American NGO further demands compensation be paid for 15,220,520 credits which it states have been issued to the project. While Verra’s statement attracted significant interest in environmental circles, it raises significant concerns over the power exercised by the small group of largely unregulated western NGOs which effectively control much of world’s carbon market.
Verra’s statement notably provides neither the long-awaited report on the nearly two-year long investigation into the project, nor provides any evidence on how the figures presented in the statement were calculated. This follows a long-standing pattern which according to independent experts has seen Verra “fall critically short of accepted practices for transparency, accountability, and responsible governance”. While general consensus indicates that significant over crediting is likely to have occurred, serious questions remain as to its extent and who bears final responsibility for any “phantom” credits Verra has issued to the project.
Under Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard, Verra bears sole responsibility for the issuance carbon credits. All issuance requests must be independently audited by a so-called VVB (accredited by Verra), before being reviewed by Verra. In earlier statements Verra repeatedly stated that they “stood by all credits” they had issued.
[paywall]
This is not the first time serious issues have been raised about Verra’s transparency. Following Zimbabwe’s suspension of carbon trading in 2023, an open-source review of Verra’s own registry records revealed that 92% of all transactions involving Kariba credits do not list a beneficiary. This suggests that unlike comparable standards, Verra did not comply with Zimbabwean law – raising further issues with the conduct of the American NGO.
Verra’s conduct in this hotly watched case raises serious issues not only the integrity with which the so-called guardians of carbon credit integrity embody themselves, but with the significant power exercised by these poorly regulated entities. Regardless of where one stands in regard to the Kariba project, this case highlights the significant challenge facing countries like Zimbabwe in their fight to attract green investment.
[/paywall]