Rescue workers in helicopters and on jet skis are patrolling the flooded streets of Rio Grande do Sul to find survivors after brutal storms tore through the region.
At the end of April, the floodgates opened in southern Brazil.
Verra has used nearly a million “hot air” carbon credits to compensate for bogus offsets generated by rice-paddy projects backed by energy giant Shell in China, Climate Home News can reveal.
In a case described as “shocking” and “deeply alarming” by experts, the leading carbon registry replaced 960,000 credits issued for rice-field methane reduction activities that had been found to overstate emissions cuts with an equivalent number of junk credits from other failed Chinese rice projects, its records show.
“It’s frankly unbelievable that Verra considers it appropriate to compensate for hot air credits with other hot air credits,” said Jonathan Crook, policy lead at Carbon Market Watch. “To pretend this is a satisfactory resolution is both absurd and deeply alarming.”
Shell’s links to bogus offsets
Shell is linked to both sets of projects, which Verra ruled as no longer valid in August 2024 after detecting “unprecedented” failures in their implementation. Last year, an investigation by Climate Home News and Dialogue Earth cast serious doubt on whether any emissions-cutting activities were carried out on the ground at all.
In response to those findings, a Shell spokesperson said “the projects in question are not managed or operated by Shell”. But the oil and gas major was closely involved in 10 rice-farming programmes in China as their “authorised representative” and, as Climate Home News reported last year, partly relied on their worthless carbon offsets to market “carbon-neutral” liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Regulatory filings in the US show that Shell, acting as a broker, last year offered to potential buyers the same carbon credits that have now been used as partial compensation for the 10 projects.
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Zimbabwe forest carbon megaproject generated millions of junk credits
Verra is seeking compensation for offsets issued “in excess” by the controversial Kariba REDD+ scheme. But the registry’s track record in obtaining remedies raises concerns -
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For more than a year, Verra failed to replace nearly 2 million worthless credits issued by the 10 projects, after the Chinese developers stopped responding to the registry’s communications with them. Shell abandoned the programmes shortly after Verra ordered that the credits should be compensated.
The credits were primarily used by Shell to offset real greenhouse gas emissions created by its vast fossil fuel operations. Other users of the phantom rice-farming offsets include Chinese state-owned fossil fuel firm PetroChina, Singapore-based DBS Bank and UK energy supplier OVO Energy.
In early October this year, updates to Verra’s registry showed that 960,000 excess credits across the 10 projects had been replaced with an equivalent number of credits drawn from four separate rice-cultivation programmes that were also axed at the same time.
Those original credits had not been voided and technically remained available to the account holder, even though Verra scrapped the underlying programmes and unsuccessfully pursued their representatives for redress. The Chinese company behind the four projects failed to respond to Verra’s requests, leaving it unclear whether the credits will ever be replaced.
Verra’s rules in the spotlight
A Verra spokesperson told Climate Home News that the account holder, “which requested to remain anonymous”, asked the registry to cancel those credits and, subsequently, Verra decided to count them towards the compensation process for the other 10 sham projects.
While Climate Home News could not verify the identity of the account holder in question, Shell declared in public filings that, in 2024, it had marketed those 960,000 credits to potential buyers.
Verra said its rules allow any active credits to be used to cover excess issuance elsewhere, even if those credits themselves need to be replaced. Commenting on this specific case involving the sham rice-farming projects, the spokesperson added: “While the source projects have been rejected and must address their own over-issuance, the credits used here were valid at the time of cancellation.”
Grayson Badgley, a research scientist at climate solutions non-profit CarbonPlan, said this sort of logic might allow Verra to balance its credit ledger but does nothing to help the planet’s atmosphere. “This isn’t just about following the rules – it’s about making sure that the carbon market supports meaningful climate action,” he added.
Compensation orders piling up
Carbon market experts told Climate Home News the case raises serious questions about Verra’s ability to safeguard the integrity of its carbon credits at a critical time when a rapidly growing number of bogus offsets require compensation.
Over 10 million worthless credits produced by the discredited Kariba forest protection megaproject in Zimbabwe, and already used by corporations to back up their green claims, need to be replaced after Verra found the threat to the forest had been exaggerated in the project’s original forecast.
Zimbabwe forest carbon megaproject generated millions of junk credits
In a separate development, Verra is now also seeking the compensation of around 4.5 million credits issued by four vast tree-planting schemes in China. The registry axed the projects last Friday after a year-long review failed to confirm they had been approved by government authorities – a key requirement – and that official documentation had not been falsified.
Shell tied to failed tree-planting schemes
While a Chinese company was in charge of the projects’ implementation, official documents show that, for years, Shell had been directly involved as an “authorised representative”. This role, which the energy giant also held in the rice paddy schemes, gave the firm all the “applicable rights and responsibilities” in relation to the activities.
Shell exited all four tree-planting projects in December 2024, a month after Verra informed the firm it would start the investigation that ultimately led to their cancellation last week.
“We purchase and retire a range of Verra-certified credits and were disappointed to learn of the issues Verra identified with these projects and are looking at Verra to replace any credits that were issued under these projects,” a Shell spokesperson told Climate Home News.
For Carbon Market Watch’s Crook, Verra’s unwillingness to deal with “huge loopholes” is not only deeply troubling but also counterproductive as it undermines trust in the registry, while leaving it exposed to future misconduct by unscrupulous actors.
“Rather than take real accountability for this scandal, Verra seems intent on propping up a collapsing house of cards,” he added, referring to the compensation of rice-farming credits.
The post “House of cards”: Verra used junk carbon credits to fix Shell’s offsetting scandal appeared first on Climate Home News.
“House of cards”: Verra used junk carbon credits to fix Shell’s offsetting scandal
The holidays are here again. ‘Tis the season to hang out with (or just tolerate) family and friends, share (and maybe overindulge in) tasty meals, and enjoy festivities (or stay cozy and binge your comfort show). But no matter how you celebrate, the pressure to consume can be extreme.
Capitalism’s overconsumption machine can make us think that we need to buy everything during the holidays, but as corporations pump out 430 million tonnes of plastic globally, plastic doesn’t need to get the invite to the big holiday party this year. Dodging certain holiday offerings and embracing some new anti-consumption traditions can be small but mighty acts of resistance against capitalism.
Plastic is everywhere, and at this time of year it’s hiding in plain sight at your holiday gatherings. Plastic packaging is the most obvious major source of waste; however, a closer look at what many decorations and gifts are made of reveals all the other ways plastic creeps into our homes. It is in clothing, bags, bedding, childrens’ toys, holiday figurines, electronics, sports equipment, stuffed animals, cosmetics, kitchenware, furniture, the stir stick in your cocktail or mocktail — the list goes on.
Why does this matter? Because plastic pollutes air, water, nature and our bodies, across its entire lifecycle. And it’s causing widespread and devastating harm. Plastic isn’t only a waste and pollution issue, it has morphed into a grave public health concern. The more plastic the industry produces, the more we’re pressured to consume, and the more pollution people and the planet are exposed to.
5 Ways to reduce plastic waste and pollution during Christmas
The season of giving doesn’t have to be giving plastic disaster. We’re here to share 5 ways to beat those consumption blues.
1. Normalize ‘new-to-you’ over brand new gifts.
It’s never been easier to find pre-loved items in our communities. From thrift shops to antique stores, clothing swaps to flea markets, and numerous online platforms, most gift ideas you have can be found used with a bit of time and resourcefulness. Dodging big corps whenever possible isn’t only satisfying, it’s a win for your wallet and the planet. According to Earth Overshoot Day and its partners, by July 24th, 2025 humanity was using nature about 1.8 times faster than the Earth’s ecosystems are able to regenerate, so reducing demand for new materials is part of our collective consumption reduction equation. If you look at the plastic all around you today, it is set to have more than doubled in the next 25 years.
Any signal we can send to big plastic producers and consumer goods companies that plastic isn’t fantastic, can help incentivize them to choose alternatives, and show governments that we support real solutions to the plastic problem.
2. Choose your containers and cookware with care
It’s a lovely time of year for meals out and coffee dates but because non-toxic, reusable containers are not yet ubiquitous, bringing your own plastic-free containers whenever possible will reduce your plastic exposure and footprint. Plastic-lined coffee cups, “bioplastic” packaging and cutlery, and even take-out containers labeled as reusable, present an opportunity for contaminating our food and our bodies with microplastics and chemicals. Various kitchenware items in our homes also contain plastic. Large plastic spatulas and spoons, sieves and strainers, cutting boards, storage containers, sippy cups, electric kettles, blenders and Teflon or coated pans all can contain or are made from plastic. Scientists have begun to uncover how using these types of items contributes to our ingestion of microplastics and exposure to potentially toxic chemicals. There’s nothing festive about a charcuterie board seasoned with microplastics.
It’s not easy or affordable to do a full kitchen overhaul, but you can start by doing small changes like ditching plastic cutting boards, never heating plastic, and using stainless steel or cast iron instead of coated pots and pans. When hosting, remember reusable is best — ditch the single-use plates, cups, and cutlery and just use what you have on hand. Crowd source dishware when needed, that’s what friends are for.
3. Glitter isn’t glam, your inner sparkle is enough!
Who doesn’t want a little glitz at this time of year? So much of what is extra sparkly and shiny is a combination of plastic and metal, and it’s nothing but a beautiful nightmare. Glitter shows up in craft supplies, gift wrap, decorations, clothing, cosmetics, kids’ toys, costumes, party hats, and snow globes. Plastic glitter and sequins can easily shed into its surroundings, when clothing is being washed or crafts are being cleaned-up, it can shed down the drain, and when combined with paper or other materials, these products ruin recycling potential, sending them to landfill or incineration. And while some may claim to be biodegradable, it’s really not worth the potential pollution risk.
4. Resist the urge to purge
Out with the old and in with the new can be a useful mantra when letting go of negative vibes or questionable habits, but when it comes to “stuff”, we all need to resist the temptation to get the newer, trendier, or upgraded item. We live in an era where we’re being given mixed messages about simplifying our lives and our relationship with material things. We’re told to buy more, but also buy better. Wide leg jeans today, skinny jeans tomorrow. But purging in the name of decluttering isn’t an act for the planet. It can also overburden donation organizations. Unless the purge is paired with a commitment to minimalist living, chances are a lot of that stuff will eventually be replaced, increasing the resource burden. Buying a bunch of new stuff can result in a bunch more plastic produced, so try to ponder before you purge and consider what might be reused, refurbished, remanufactured, revived, refurnished, repurposed, remade, regifted, rotated out, rotated in, rearranged, reimagined, and/or relocated.
5. Cozy up with a petition to change the world.
Trying to dodge plastic can be exhausting. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone. We can only do so much in this broken plastic-obsessed system. Plastic producers and polluters need to be held accountable, and governments need to act faster to protect the health of people and the planet. The plastic crisis is a global problem demanding a global solution. We urgently need global governments to secure a strong UN Global Plastics Treaty that reduces global production and consumption, ends our reliance on problem plastics and chemicals, and accelerates a justice-centred transition to a reuse-based, zero waste future. Ensure your government doesn’t waste this once-in-a-generation opportunity to end the age of plastic. Sign our petition!
Climate Change
After Hurricane Katrina, a New Orleans Architect Turned to the Dutch to Learn to Live With Water
Before the storm, the city tried to engineer water out of sight. But, David Waggonner says, “you can’t live with water if you can’t see water.”
For years, David Waggonner designed courthouses and other public buildings at his architectural practice, Waggonner & Ball, in New Orleans. Then Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, and Waggonner became convinced that New Orleans was getting something fundamentally wrong about its approach to flooding and water.
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