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 · 2022

Shell's 2022 stake in Brazilian REDD+ developer Carbonext

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 · 4 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Shell Brasil bought a minority stake in Carbonext, a Brazilian REDD+ developer, in 2022. Police and prosecutors later acted against REDD+ schemes, including some the sources say Carbonext developed, and the sources do not say whether Carbonext or Shell were charged.

What?
Shell Brasil took a minority stake in Carbonext in 2022; Brazilian authorities later investigated REDD+ schemes in Amazonas and sued over schemes linked to the firm. REDD-Monitor
Where?
Lábrea and Apuí, Amazonas state, Brazil
When?
Stake July 2022; Operation Greenwashing June 2024; prosecutors' suits March 2026 REDD-Monitor
Who?
Gained
  • Shell Brasil — minority stake in Carbonext with priority access to its credits (July 2022) REDD-Monitor
  • Carbonext — received the 200 million reais investment REDD-Monitor
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Kaxarari indigenous people and gatherers in Iquiri National Forest — prosecutors asked that 87.3% of Unitor's revenue be returned to them
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Equity stake in a carbon-credit developer that sold REDD+ credits; Verra suspended the accounts of some of its schemes REDD-Monitor
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In July 2022 Shell Brasil bought a minority stake in Carbonext, described as Brazil's largest REDD+ developer, for about 200 million reais (about 38–40 million dollars), with priority access to its credits (REDD-Monitor, 2022).

In June 2024 Verra suspended the accounts of the Unitor, Fortaleza Ituxi and Evergreen schemes, which the sources say Carbonext developed, days after the Federal Police launched Operation Greenwashing.

Federal prosecutors filed three suits in March 2026 against Ituxi, Carbonext and Verra, and asked that 87.3% of Unitor's revenue go back to the Kaxarari indigenous people and gatherers in Iquiri National Forest.

    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: Carbonext says it protects about 2 million hectares of Amazon forest.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Shell bought Select Carbon in 2020 (more than 70 schemes, about 9 million hectares) and planned 200 million dollars for nature-based solutions over two years.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Shell decided in 2024 to sell most of its nature-based business.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Shell was the largest corporate user of carbon credits in 2024; no source is given.
    • None on record Not stated: whether Carbonext or Shell was charged, or is a party to, the Federal Police investigation.
    • None on record Not stated: the outcome of the March 2026 suits.

    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

    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.
    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.
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