Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Kenya · 2023–2025

Study finds offset schemes overstate climate impacts; Kenyan court orders shutdown

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

EFI reported a 2023 study in Science which found that carbon offset schemes overstate their climate benefits. Mongabay reported in January 2025 that a Kenyan court ordered two community wildlife conservancies shut; the sources reviewed do not link the two.

What?
A 2023 study reported by EFI found carbon offset schemes overstate their climate impacts. EFI
Where?
Kenya, for the court order; the study covers REDD+ areas in six countries
When?
Study published in August 2023; Kenyan court order reported in January 2025. EFI
Who?
Gained
  • Offset scheme developers and buyers (not named in the sources reviewed) — Credits for forest protection, which the study found overstate the climate benefit EFI
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The study assessed deforestation in REDD+ areas, according to the EFI report. EFI
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

EFI reported on 25 August 2023 that a study in Science found carbon offset schemes overstate their climate impacts.

According to the EFI report, most REDD+ areas in the study showed no decline in deforestation.

Mongabay reported in January 2025 that a Kenyan court ordered two community wildlife conservancies shut down.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2025-01Outcome not on record
      Kenyan court order closing two community wildlife conservancies
      Kenyan court (name not in the sources reviewed) · unknown · Not named in the sources reviewed → Two community wildlife conservancies (not named in the sources reviewed)

      Mongabay reported in January 2025 that a Kenyan court ordered two community wildlife conservancies shut down. The sources reviewed do not link the conservancies to carbon offsets. Mongabay

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Court

    • Unclear Kenyan court order closing two community wildlife conservancies: outcome not on record.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether the two conservancies sold carbon credits.
    • None on record The study's full text was not reviewed; its findings rest on the EFI summary.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not name the offset developers or buyers involved, or give the size of the overstatement.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Carbon credit
    A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.
    Offset
    Using carbon credits to balance emissions released elsewhere, so that a buyer can claim lower or zero net emissions.
    REDD+
    Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. A UN framework under which forest projects earn carbon credits for deforestation they say they prevented, measured against a projected baseline.

    Places and local terms

    Conservancy (Kenya)
    In Kenya, land managed by a community or private owners for wildlife alongside grazing, often with outside partners.
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