Blue Carbon (company)
Blue Carbon is an Emirati company that was launched in October 2022. The company seeks to conserve forests that might otherwise be logged, thus preventing carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere in order to earn carbon credits to sell to companies and governments who would want to release carbon dioxide. It is assumed that much of the credits would be sold to the oil producing United Arab Emirates.
Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum is the founder and chairman of Blue Carbon. He was previously involved in deals to sell Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine at a premium during the COVID 19 pandemic.[1] The current CEO is Josiane Sadaka, a British-educated brand manager for other companies owned by Sheikh Ahmed as well.[2] Samuele Landi is listed as an advisor to Blue Carbon and has been convicted before for fraudulent bankruptcy. He lives as a fugitive as Italy has issued extradition requests from the UAE for his arrest.[1] The company initially stated it would focus on carbon storage on marine ecosystems, known as Blue carbon.[3]
In September 2023, Zimbabwe signed control over almost 20% of the country's land to Blue Carbon. Blue Carbon's parent company agreed to transfer $1.5 billion to Zimbabwe, which is more than the country spends on education and childcare. Additionally, Blue Carbon has done deals covering 10% of Liberia, 10% of Zambia,[4] 8% of Tanzania[5] (which also signed a deal handing 5.9 million acres to a similar company GreenCop Development),[2] the Bahamas,[6] Nigeria,[7] Papua New Guinea,[8] Saint Lucia,[9] Dominica,[10] Comoros,[11] Pakistan and Kenya.[12] In total, Blue Carbon has secured forested area equivalent to the land area of the entire United Kingdom.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Patrick Greenfield (30 November 2023). "Who is the UAE sheikh behind deals to manage vast areas of African forest?". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ a b Fred Pearce (28 August 2023). "In New Scramble for Africa, an Arab Sheikh Is Taking the Lead". Yale School of the Environment. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Blue Carbon launch offers nature-based solutions in UAE". Trade Arabia. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Blue Carbon and Government of Zambia sign MoU to unlock the potential of carbon removal projects". Gulf News. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Blue Carbon and the Government of Tanzania join forces to accelerate transition to low-carbon economy". Gulf News. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Blue Carbon, Bahamas forge partnership for climate resilience, carbon credits". Pakistan Today. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Blue Carbon Joins Forces With Niger State To Plant 1bn Trees". The Friday Times. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Blue Carbon, PNG Govt Unite For Paris Agreement Projects At COP28". The Friday Times. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Blue Carbon's MOU Signing With Saint Lucia Sets The Stage For Article 6 Exploration At COP28". The Friday Times. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Dominica, Blue Carbon Join Hands For Sustainable Climate Solutions". The Friday Times. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "Comoros, Blue Carbon Ink MoU To Address Climate Crisis". The Friday Times. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ Patrick Greenfield (30 November 2023). "The new 'scramble for Africa': how a UAE sheikh quietly made carbon deals for forests bigger than UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ Angela Dewan (23 November 2023). "A UAE company has secured African land the size of the UK for controversial carbon offset projects". CNN. Retrieved 12 July 2024.