The case of Africa's 'vanishing' carbon deals

Zimbabwe local environmentalist at Carbon Green Africa Shadreck Ndlovu, and local councillor and conservationist Elmon Mudenda inspect a community water tank on June 10, 2023 in Binga, Zimbabwe. [AFP]

When Liberia's government signed an agreement with a little-known Dubai company run by a royal sheikh in 2023, the "carbon credit" deal promised to protect vast tracts of forests and offset big polluters' emissions.

It was one of a flurry of deals UAE-based Blue Carbon signed that year covering millions of hectares of forests across Africa from Liberia to Zimbabwe -– in one case amounting to a fifth of a country's landmass.