Kenya, May 14 -- A Kenyan court has made a significant ruling in favour of Maasai herders, putting a stop to the world's largest soil carbon project, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
This decision affects about 20% of the project's carbon credits, with the possibility of losing up to 50% across 14 wildlife conservancies, creating uncertainty for a project that covers 4.7 million acres.
The goal of the project is to capture 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over 30 years, but it has faced criticism for disrupting the traditional migration routes of the Maasai people and giving more power to a few local leaders.
The ruling impacts major companies like Netflix and Meta, which had bought over 6 million carbon credits worth between $42 million and $90 million.
These credits are important for these companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, but now they are at risk of losing value.
Verra, the organisation responsible for certifying these carbon credits, has paused its approvals while it reviews the legitimacy of the project.
This decision comes at a time when the global carbon market, expected to be worth $35 billion by 2030, is facing increasing doubt about the reliability of voluntary carbon offsets.
The court's ruling highlights the tensions between large environmental projects and the rights of local communities, raising important questions about the future of carbon credit initiatives in Kenya and elsewhere.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.