What Happens When Western Countries Outsource Emission Cuts To Combat Climate Change

Some 6,000 people have suffered as a result of a forest project supported by Nordic countries in efforts to cut global green house gas (GHG) emissions. Uganda, like most developing countries, contributes least to the GHG emissions. Yet it suffers most the impacts of climate change. Currently, various parts of the country are facing famine after a long drought made farming impossible.

In the Paris climate agreement, Uganda pledged to mitigate climate change by implementation of a series of policies and measures in the energy supply, forestry and wetland sectors. It estimated that these policies would result in a 22% reduction of national GHG emissions in 2030.

In this multimedia piece by Finnish journalists, we learn about how forests grown in Uganda contribute to the Swedish energy agency compensation for some of the country’s own emissions, which is done by buying Certified Emission Reduction (CER) units, also known as carbon credits. Somewhere in the chain, the 25-square-kilometre pine plantation is then carried out by the Norway-based firm Green Resources company and its subcontractors.

The project under the clean development mechanism (CDM), however, has been put on the spotlight for doing little to improve the lives of locals in northern Uganda. There are legal issues around land rights and who has the right to use the land, which was formally accessed by the community.

The piece captures what is working and what is problematic as western countries move in pursuit of carbon credits.