How ‘carbon cowboys’ are cashing in on protected Amazon forest

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A Washington Post investigation reveals that many carbon credit projects in the Brazilian Amazon are exploiting publicly protected lands
• These ventures, often unauthorized, generate substantial profits without sharing revenue with local communities

🔭 The context: Carbon credits are financial instruments aimed at reducing carbon emissions by funding preservation projects
• However, over half of these projects in the Amazon overlap with public lands, covering an area six times the size of Maryland

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: These activities undermine genuine conservation efforts, as carbon credits are issued for land already protected, thus offering no real reduction in emissions

⏭️ What's next: Brazilian authorities are beginning to investigate these practices, which may lead to tighter regulations and scrutiny over carbon credit markets

💬 One quote: "The system is very gameable, and the victim is the planet, and all of humanity who suffers because we’re not reducing emissions, but get to pretend we are." — Joseph Romm, climate researcher

📈 One stat: The projects have generated over 80 million carbon credits, with a market value exceeding $212 million

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