When Switzerland was seeking ways to reduce its contribution to climate change, the nation began funding farmers in Ghana who grow rice in a climate-friendly way. In exchange, Switzerland is eligible to receive credit for the reduced methane emissions.
But when the Swiss government hired an environmental consultant to scrutinize the climate effect, the consultant found flaws. It warned of a “very high risk” that the project was overestimating its climate benefits.
The consultant’s analysis, posted on Switzerland’s website last month, offers a peek into potential problems with a carbon market mechanism now unfolding around the world. Using a United Nations framework established in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, one nation funds a climate project in another nation, then takes credit for the emissions reductions.
Countries have signed more than 90 of the two-party deals, taking a first step in the process, said Gautam Jain, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. The Switzerland project in Ghana and another Swiss-funded climate project in Thailand are among the first to advance to the stage at which a country can begin paying for carbon credits and receiving credit.
