Dubai, UAE – Blue Carbon, a Dubai-based company has secured expansive forested land across several African nations, a CNN report said.
The area, which is estimated to be nearly equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom, is earmarked for conservation projects aimed at safeguarding forests and preventing significant amounts of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, the report added.
Forest conservation agreements involving Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Liberia, and Tanzania were announced in the months leading up to the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit, set to be hosted by the UAE in December.
The company’s plan involves utilizing these conservation efforts to generate carbon credits, which could be sold to governments and companies seeking to offset their carbon emissions.
The upcoming COP28 climate summit, hosted by the UAE, has become a focal point for the discussions on climate change. The summit is anticipated to shape the future of carbon trading and carbon capture strategies, with the UAE aiming to highlight carbon removal solutions, including from forests as well as from oil and gas emissions stored underground.
Critics emphasize the need for a holistic approach to climate action that doesn’t rely solely on offsetting carbon emissions but also focuses on substantial reductions in emissions from fossil fuels.