Liberia’s 2023 agreement with Blue Carbon promised to protect one million hectares of forest and generate revenues for the government.
The deal was part of a broader push across Africa to sell carbon credits while engaging local communities in forest protection.
Similar agreements in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Nigeria aimed to safeguard millions of hectares and provide revenue streams to governments.
More than two years later, Liberia’s deal has stalled, and other accords appear dormant, according to AFP and Code for Africa.
Elijah Whapoe of Liberia’s climate secretariat confirmed the deal “was stopped” and no efforts are underway to revive it.
Critics say the agreements offered little transparency, threatened community land rights, and risked allowing polluters to greenwash emissions.
Carbon credits allow emissions to be offset through projects such as forest protection, yet oversight and implementation remain weak globally.
Liberia’s MOU, under a REDD+ framework, would have given the government 30 percent of revenue while involving local communities in forest management.
UN agencies and local NGOs had warned the Liberian government about conflicts with existing land rights before the deal was signed.
Across Africa, Blue Carbon’s agreements have largely failed to progress beyond preliminary memoranda, leaving implementation uncertain.
Outside Africa, Papua New Guinea’s carbon credit plan with Blue Carbon has similarly “not progressed at all,” according to local authorities.
Investigations reveal the company has no presence on major carbon registries and its online platforms have been inactive since early 2023.
Experts say the Blue Carbon saga underscores the need for stricter oversight, transparency, and accountability in international carbon credit schemes.
“The key lesson is ensuring environmental integrity and public accountability to prevent carbon projects from vanishing into ‘hot air,’” said an Oxford researcher.
