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 · Guyana · 2011–2032

Hess agreed to buy at least US$750 million of Guyana forest credits

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.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Guyana agreed in 2022 to supply REDD+ forest credits to Hess, a partner in its Stabroek oil block, and IATA said in September 2025 that all CORSIA-eligible supply came from Guyana. Greenpeace said in 2011 that the McKinsey-assisted Guyana forest plan would let logging rise 20-fold.

What?
Guyana agreed to supply REDD+ forest credits to Hess, a partner in its Stabroek oil block, under a purchase commitment of at least US$750 million for 2022–2032. CarbonCredits.com
Where?
Guyana
When?
2011 (Greenpeace claim); 2022–2032 (Hess commitment); September 2025 (CORSIA supply) IATA
Who?
Gained
  • Government of Guyana and its oil partner — Sale of REDD+ credits under the Hess commitment CarbonCredits.com
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Guyana's forests — Greenpeace said the McKinsey-assisted plan would allow logging to rise 20-fold (2011)
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Hess signed a purchase commitment for REDD+ credits from Guyana, and IATA reported that Guyana supplied all CORSIA-eligible credits in September 2025. IATA
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Hess, a partner in Guyana's Stabroek oil block, signed a commitment in 2022 to buy at least US$750 million of REDD+ credits from Guyana over 2022–2032, according to CarbonCredits.com.

IATA said in September 2025 that all CORSIA-eligible supply came from Guyana.

Greenpeace said in 2011 that the McKinsey-assisted Guyana forest plan would allow logging to rise 20-fold.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    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.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Hess's Guyana credits could make its share of Stabroek emissions carbon neutral (Climate Home News and OilNOW, 2023).
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: an indigenous consent complaint about the Hess arrangement was rejected.
    • None on record Reported without a source link: McKinsey wrote Guyana's forest plan.
    • None on record Reported without a source link: Chevron bought Hess for US$53 billion.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state whether the credits were issued or delivered, or their price.

    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

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.

    Carbon and conservation finance

    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.

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.