THE Kariba Redd+ carbon credits project is under intense media fire, both locally and internationally, following recent regulatory speculation.
The scrutiny comes after Verra, the global carbon credit regulatory authority, raised concern over the project.
According to information gathered by NewsDay, there is an alleged plot to “throw the Kariba Redd+ project under the bus” through negative publicity.
Sources close to the project indicate that the project was established in 2011 to help Zimbabwean communities to mitigate climate shocks through private finance.
This was at a time when the country was grappling with the effects of climate change and sanctions that limited capital inflows.
However, the project faced early commercial challenges.
While private investors projected a return on investment through carbon credit sales by 2013, Zimbabwe’s unstable situation attracted very few buyers.
Those who were interested offered to purchase credits for less than US$0,20 each.
“This attracted negative articles from some local journalists who even questioned if the investors would continue with the project,” a source revealed.
The project was established with private capital and relied on technical expertise from the south pole, with regulation of Verra, as no such frameworks existed in the global south at the time.
However, questions are being raised about the number of credits generated, a matter that sources say should be answered by Verra not solely the project proponent.
“For the past 10 years, the project struggled with limited and low-priced carbon credit sales and no one from either the global north or global south paid it any attention,” the source added.
Critically, Verra is now reportedly targeting Carbon Green Investment (CGI), the parent company of the Kariba project, for the “over-estimations”, despite the fact that Verra’s approved methodology was used.
“To date, no one has ever bothered to visit these communities to compare their situation before and after the project,” an internal memo from the Kariba Redd+ project read.“The aim should be to improve on the gaps, rather than completely criticise the project without offering a better alternative.”
The memo stated that the negative sentiment fails to provide a better alternative to what Kariba Redd+ has achieved and ultimately harms the poor communities that have benefited.
“We need to treat the Kariba case as a pilot study and use it to improve future projects in Zimbabwe and Africa at large,” the statement continued.