Carbon Green Investments, a company managing offset projects, has announced that it will immediately remove the Kariba forestry project, one of the biggest carbon offset projects in Zimbabwe, from Verra’s registry, as stated in an email.
The decision “comes after extensive deliberations and a detailed review” of the engagement process and communications with Verra over the past seven months, it said.
CGI announced it’s also pulling out of the Chirisa forestry project. Instead, it intends to enroll both projects in the Greenhouse Gas program.
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The withdrawal of Kariba could weaken a crucial safety net in the carbon market, the surplus credits buffer pool, designed to address events like forest fires.
According to Verra’s regulations, if there’s inadequate project management, the project sponsor—in this instance, CGI—would be responsible for refilling the buffer pool. If CGI exits Verra, the process for replenishing the pool isn’t immediately evident.
Verra said its “motivation isn’t to facilitate any attempt to make a clean getaway, leaving others holding the bag.” The nonprofit will “continue to focus on the environmental and social integrity expected by the thousands of high-credibility projects around the world,” it said.
CGI said the decision to withdraw from Verra was driven by “a series of challenges.” These challenges included delays in communication, restricted access to their accounts, and insufficient engagement. “These administrative challenges have led to further reputational damage and financial losses,” CGI said.
