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 · Brazil · 2013–2026

Brazil REDD+ forest credits: Suruí project suspended; 2024 Amazonas concessions probed

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: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Brazil's Paiter Suruí REDD+ project sold forest carbon credits to Natura and FIFA and was suspended in 2018 after logging exceeded its permitted limit. In May 2024 Amazonas state granted 21 REDD concessions over 11.9 million hectares of public forest without consulting 483 communities.

What?
A Paiter Suruí REDD+ project in Rondônia sold credits to Natura and FIFA, then was suspended in 2018 after logging exceeded its permitted limit. Mongabay
Where?
Rondônia state (Suruí project) and Amazonas state (2024 concessions), Brazil Mongabay
When?
Credits sold 2013 to 2014; suspended 2018; concessions granted May 2024 Mongabay
Who?
Gained
  • Natura — bought Suruí credits in 2013 Mongabay
  • FIFA — bought Suruí credits in 2014 to offset World Cup emissions Mongabay
  • Future Carbon — won 12 of the 21 Amazonas concessions
  • Shell Brasil — bought a minority stake in Carbonext in July 2022, with priority access to credits REDD-Monitor
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Paiter Suruí people and their forest — forest cleared after gold and diamonds were found; the project was suspended Mongabay
  • 483 communities — not consulted on the 2024 Amazonas concessions
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Forest carbon credits sold to offset emissions; the sources describe logging above permitted limits and concessions on public forest Mongabay
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Natura bought credits from the Paiter Suruí REDD+ project in 2013 and FIFA in 2014 to offset World Cup emissions. After gold and diamonds were found on the land, logging in 2017 exceeded the permitted limit by 256 per cent, covering 653 hectares, and the project was suspended in 2018, according to Mongabay (2018).

In May 2024 Amazonas state granted 21 REDD concessions covering 11.9 million hectares of public forest, without consulting 483 communities; federal prosecutors recommended suspending them.

In June 2024 the Federal Police launched Operation Greenwashing, and Verra suspended the accounts of Unitor, Fortaleza Ituxi and Evergreen. Federal police charged 31 people in October 2025.

Reuters found in July 2025 that at least 24 of 36 Amazon credit schemes certified by Verra or Cercarbono included people fined for illegal deforestation by Ibama.

    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 Shell stake was worth about 200 million reais, and the Carbonext scheme claimed about 2 million hectares.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not confirm whether the 2024 concessions have been suspended.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not give the Suruí project's total credit sales.

    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

    Communities and civil society

    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

    Buffer pool
    A reserve of credits held back from sale by a carbon programme to cover future losses, such as forest burned or logged after credits were issued. It works as the programme's own insurance.
    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.
    Standard-setter and registry
    An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.

    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.

    Law and courts

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

    Insurance

    Underwriter
    An insurer, or a person at an insurer, who assesses a risk and decides whether and on what terms to insure it.