The article discusses Nigeria’s growing carbon trading market, which the government sees as a major source of climate finance, with an estimated potential to generate over $2.5 billion annually. While the country’s new Emissions Trading Scheme was initially praised, a recent Forest Carbon Dialogue highlighted significant concerns. Critics, including environmental justice groups, fear that carbon offsetting acts as a “license to pollute” for corporations and could lead to “carbon colonialism” by dispossessing local communities of their land. They argue that many projects lack transparency and fairness, and that monoculture plantations are a poor substitute for natural forests. The dialogue’s participants called for a temporary halt on new projects until a just and transparent framework is established, urging a focus on genuine emission reductions in sectors like oil and gas.

Source: EnviroNews