Colombia’s Constitutional Court has annulled a controversial carbon credit deal in the Amazon rainforest, which according to six local tribes, was signed without their consent. The Indigenous communities of Pira Parana accused US-based Ruby Canyon Environmental and Colombian company Masbosques of imposing the deal on them illegally.
Carbon credits, purchased by corporations or countries to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, are intended to financially support local communities that protect their regions from deforestation.
In Pira Parana, these credits, also known as green bonds, were sold for approximately $3.8 million to Colombian data processing firm Latin Checkout. EcoRegistry reported that Latin Checkout then sold the credits to US airline Delta, which is facing a lawsuit for allegedly misleading claims of carbon neutrality through questionable offsets.
The deal, signed in March 2021, required the Indigenous communities to preserve an area of 7,100 square kilometers (2,741 miles), almost the size of Puerto Rico. However, the tribes argued that the agreement was made with false representatives of their communities, violating their rights to territorial autonomy and self-government.
On Monday, the court mandated that the tribes’ legitimate representatives must decide within six months whether to authorise a new agreement. If they do not, authorities must ensure that the carbon credit project ceases in their territory.
Pira Parana is so remote it can only be reached by expensive private flights or a six-day boat trip from the nearest city, Mitu. Local leaders stated that the deal caused conflict within the communities, unaccustomed to managing large sums of money, and resulted in a loss of Indigenous autonomy.
Experts have suggested there was no actual deforestation threat in the area, and therefore, no genuine emissions savings to be made. This case marks the first of its kind in Colombia.