Colombia’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday annulled a controversial carbon credit agreement in the Amazon rainforest, which six indigenous tribes said was signed without their consent.
Indigenous communities in the remote region of Pirá Paraná had accused US-based Ruby Canyon Environmental and Colombian company MasBoscas, which was acting as intermediary, of illegally imposing the deal on them.
Carbon credits are purchased by corporations – or countries under certain conditions – to offset or “compensate” their greenhouse gas emissions from forest conservation or other projects.
This money should be given to local communities who protect their home areas from deforestation.
In Pirra Paraná, the credits — also known as green bonds — were sold to a Colombian data processing firm called Latin Checkout for about $3.8 million.
According to EcoRegistry, a company that monitors carbon credit trading, Latin Checkout sold the credits to US airline Delta, which is being sued domestically for alleged “greenwashing” by claiming to be carbon-neutral while purchasing questionable carbon offsets.
The agreement, signed in March 2021, was supposed to allow indigenous communities to preserve an area of 7,100 square kilometers (2,741 miles) — close to the size of Puerto Rico.
But the tribes say the agreement was signed with false representatives of their communities.
They went to court claiming violation of their rights to regional autonomy and self-governance.
On Monday, the court ordered the tribes’ legal representatives to meet and decide within six months whether to enter into a new agreement.
If they do not do so, authorities must “ensure” that the carbon credit project “will not be carried out any further in the area”, the judges ruled.
The concept behind carbon credits has suffered a major setback recently, as scientific research has repeatedly shown that emissions reduction claims are highly exaggerated — or even non-existent.
In late 2023, AFP hiked, motorboated and flew over parts of the Peira Parana region, an area so remote it can only be reached by million-dollar private flights or at least a six-day boat trip from the nearest town, Mitu.
Local leaders there said they wished they had never heard of the deal.
While this brought economic benefits, it also led to conflict among communities not used to handling large sums of money and harmed indigenous autonomy, he said.
Indigenous leader Fabio Valencia said at the time that the project “corrupts spiritually and physically, it destroys everything in the region, all for money.”
Some experts have said there is no real threat of deforestation in the region, so no “savings” in emissions can be made.
This Constitutional Court case was the first of its kind in Colombia.
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