CGI Agrees to Compensate for Overstated Kariba REDD+ Credits
Carbon Group Investments (CGI) has agreed to Verra's compensation request following a review of the controversial Kariba REDD+ project in Zimbabwe. The project, which aimed to reduce deforestation, has been found to have issued credits in excess, leading to an overstatement of its climate change performance. Verra, the standards body, has encouraged buyers of the nearly 5 million unsold Kariba credits to voluntarily eliminate them.
Verra's review found that 57% of the Kariba project's credits were issued in excess. The actual deforestation in the project's reference area was significantly lower than initially estimated, leading to an overstatement of its climate change performance. CGI, the project developer, has agreed to Verra's compensation request but has asked for a moratorium on the process while it reviews Verra's CO2 assessment.
The industry is awaiting further developments and raising concerns about liability uncertainties in similar scenarios. Verra has requested that CGI buy and cancel an equivalent number of credits from other projects as compensation. Independent studies suggest the project may have produced 30 times more credits than it should have.
Verra's findings have significant implications for the Kariba project and the broader climate change mitigation market. The overstatement of credits raises questions about the project's integrity and the reliability of its climate change performance. CGI's agreement to Verra's compensation request is a step towards rectifying the issue, but the industry awaits further developments to understand the full extent of the liability.
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