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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Guyana · 2022–2032

Hess agreed to buy at least $750m 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.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 3 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Hess agreed in 2022 to buy at least $750 million of REDD+ forest credits from Guyana for 2022 to 2032, while it is a 30% partner in an oil block in the same country. The sources reviewed do not show whether the credits offset its oil emissions.

What?
Hess agreed to buy at least $750m of REDD+ forest credits from Guyana for 2022 to 2032 CarbonCredits.com
Where?
Guyana CarbonCredits.com
When?
Agreement in 2022; delivery window to 2032 CarbonCredits.com
Who?
Gained
  • Hess — credit purchase commitment of at least $750m for 2022 to 2032 CarbonCredits.com
  • Hess family — received about $5bn as Chevron took over Hess Daily Maverick
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Purchase commitment for REDD+ credits from Guyana's national forest programme CarbonCredits.com
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Hess agreed in 2022 to buy at least $750 million of REDD+ forest credits from Guyana for 2022 to 2032, CarbonCredits.com reported.

The OECD, in May 2026, put the volume at 37.5 million credits and noted that Hess holds 30% of an oil block in the same country.

CORSIA, the aviation emissions offset scheme, drew all its eligible supply from Guyana in September 2025, according to an IATA release.

Daily Maverick reported that the Hess family received about $5 billion as Chevron took over Hess.

    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: the credits could make Hess's oil in Guyana 'essentially carbon neutral' over 2022 to 2032 (Climate Home News and OilNOW reports).
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: an indigenous community's consent complaint was rejected.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: an unnamed analysis finds the credits exceed Hess's net emissions in the field.
    • None on record How many credits had been delivered by 2026: not stated in the sources reviewed.

    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.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    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.

    Institutions

    OECD complaint
    A complaint filed with a government's National Contact Point under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; the process is mediation, not a court.

    Law and courts

    Arbitration
    A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.
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