The Green Economy

The Green Economy is a tactic used to “clean up” the image of corporations rather than address corporate capture and capitalism as the true drivers of deforestation. False solutions promoted under the Green Economy include certification, sustainable forest management, ecosystem services, REDD+, the bioeconomy, nature-based climate solutions, and zero net deforestation. Rather than stopping it, these “solutions” support corporate-driven destruction that is causing a deep social and ecological crisis.

Bulletin articles 22 August 2024
Peasant families are threatened with eviction by Brasil Bio Fuels (BBF) oil palm plantation company, with the complicity of the state government. This article shows that the much spoken of ‘bioeconomy’ is not ‘sustainable’ and even less ‘clean’. What it does is destroy communities’ territories, just like fossil fuel-based extractive industries have been doing for a long time.
Bulletin articles 22 August 2024
Colombia's Orinoquía region stretches from the foothills of the country's eastern mountain range to the Venezuelan border. This region has historically been associated with the exploitation of rubber, timber, furs and other so-called “natural resources,” to the detriment of ancestral communities. Today, new threats are emerging under the paradigm of conservation, green energy and carbon projects.
Other information 22 August 2024
Indonesian President Jokowi planted the first sugar cane of one more mega-project in Merauke Regency in the South Papua Province on 23 July 2024. He claims the project will help to address the global food and climate crises. But it seems just one more disastrous large-scale project set up in Indonesia and Papua - such as the failed MIFEE project – that put the livelihoods of  forest-dependent peoples at risk.
Action alerts 30 July 2024
Indigenous, peasant, traditional and Afro-descendent peoples from the Amazon region and Central America call organizations and social movements all over the world to endorse this declaration rejecting carbon projects in their territories.
Bulletin articles 28 June 2024
A new round of initiatives to plant tree plantation to provide carbon offsets is currently being proposed. Aside from the absurd notion—endorsed by the UN and various national governments—that tree plantations can offset the (climate) damage caused by burning fossil carbon, these initiatives have destroyed people's livelihoods and co-opted vast areas of community land.
Bulletin articles 28 June 2024
Forest conservation and tree planting initiatives to provide carbon offsets are two of the corporate sector's favourite ways to greenwash their image and keep doing business as usual. These initiatives have features that make them very attractive to investors, for example the easiness with which project arguments and calculations can be manipulated. Therefore, it is no surprise that scandals have come to light—which has affected the kinds of projects being developed.
Bulletin articles 28 June 2024
How many tree plantations are there, and how big are they? In what regions and countries are they located? What are the differences among the various "players" who are directly involved in implementing tree plantations for the carbon market? This article presents figures and information seeking to answer these and other questions.
Bulletin articles 27 June 2024
Behind every tree plantation developed for carbon offsets, there are external agents seeking to profit from increased control over the land. And while they all have the same colonial approach, these plantations can vary widely: they can be large-scale monocultures or schemes with smallholder farmers; they can include exotic species or native species; and some of them may even exist on paper only.
Bulletin articles 27 June 2024
Several initiatives have done their part in promoting tree plantations for carbon offsets. Regardless of whether these initiatives are led by the corporate sector, NGOs, national governments, or oil companies, polluting corporations benefit from the diversion of attention away from the need to curb fossil fuel emissions.
Other information 27 June 2024
The podcast “Faroeste carbono” tells the story of how Carbonext, one of the largest carbon offset companies in Brazil, convinced quilombola communities in the state of Para in the Brazilian Amazon to sign a contract that restricts their autonomy and food production.
Other information 27 June 2024
An investigation shows that While companies like the Swedish fast food chain Max Burgers AB sells ‘carbon neutral’ burgers, a carbon offset project in Uganda is pushing families into hunger.
Other information 27 June 2024
A report documents how a tree planting carbon project in Port Loko, Sierra Leone is violating the country’s community rights laws and risks locking families into 50-year contracts. The British oil company BP has already paid USD 2.5 million to Carbon Done Right, one of the companies behind this tree plantation and carbon offset project.