I spoke with VICE about a troubling example of a dubious carbon project, using blockchain and cryptocurrency, with false claims of First Nations partnerships. Full article here.
Lauren Gifford, a postdoctoral researcher at University of Arizona who studies how companies financialize the environment as a means of governing it, first noticed the creation of blockchain-linked carbon credits in 2016, a trend that is growing more popular with carbon credit NFT projects like SavePlanetEarth, which purports to create credits by tree planting but has come under fire for its carbon accounting.
“All of this stuff is people who are seeking to accumulate wealth through this process,” said Gifford, adding that blockchain doesn’t clear up the fundamental issue of unregulated carbon markets with unclear or variable standards and protocols. “[Too often] People don’t even know what’s going on.”
