About REDD-Monitor
What is REDD-Monitor?
REDD-Monitor is your daily reminder that carbon offsets are a scam.
It’s run by me, Chris Lang. I mainly write about the problems with the harebrained scheme to offset emissions from fossil fuels against “avoided deforestation” in the Global South.
There are more than 2,000 posts on the website REDD-Monitor.org. On 23 February 2023, I decided to move to Substack. I’m in the process of transferring all the posts from the old website to reddmonitor.substack.com.
If you’re looking for (a lot) more detail about why trading the carbon stored in forests against fossil fuel emissions is a bad idea, please read this post: “Forests, Carbon Markets and Hot Air: Why the Carbon Stored in Forests Should not be Traded”.
What is REDD-Monitor’s position on climate change?
The climate is changing as a result of greenhouse gases emissions. To prevent runaway climate change we have to stop burning fossil fuels. We also need to protect forests, but trading REDD carbon offsets would allow continued burning of fossil fuels, thus locking in polluting technology and postponing meaningful action. The risks of the forests going up in smoke in a rapidly warming climate are real.
What is REDD-Monitor’s comments policy?
REDD-Monitor’s comments policy is simple: be polite, reasonable, and don’t make things up. Please avoid comments that:
are abusive or threatening;
contain personal attacks;
are off-topic;
promote hate, violence, racism, sexism, or homophobia;
are spam;
are in breach of copyright;
are defamatory or libellous.
I have no obligation to monitor any comments and no liability whatsoever for comments. You are responsible for your posts. REDD-Monitor does not own your comments, you do.
By posting on REDD-Monitor you agree that you retain ownership rights and that you relieve me and REDD-Monitor from any and all liability that may result from these postings.
If a comment does not comply with this comments policy I may delete it (or part of it).
How is REDD-Monitor funded?
REDD-Monitor’s funding originally came from social and environmental NGOs, mainly working on forest issues. The following organisations have supported REDD-Monitor in the past: FERN, Rainforest Foundation Norway, Rainforest Foundation UK, The Corner House, World Rainforest Movement, Asienhaus, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Regenwald und Artenschutz. None of these organisations currently funds REDD-Monitor.
Organisations that fund REDD-Monitor have no editorial control over what’s written on REDD-Monitor and what’s written on REDD-Monitor does not necessarily reflect their positions. None of these organisations are in any way responsible for anything written on REDD-Monitor. And of course REDD-Monitor has no affiliation with any of the organisations that have provided funding.
In 2011-2012, ICCO (Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation) funded series of interviews with REDD actors in Indonesia.
In December 2012, the Samdhana Institute and World Rainforest Movement funded a trip to Aceh province in Indonesia to investigate the Ulu Masen REDD project.
In 2015, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V. funded a series of posts and interviews about REDD in Brazil.
In 2017, Friends of the Earth US funded a series of posts and interviews about California’s cap-and-trade scheme.
In 2020, the Swift Foundation funded a series of posts about REDD in the Andes Amazon (also available in Spanish). In 2021, the Swift Foundation funded a series of posts about 30x30 - the proposal to put 30% of the planet into protected areas by 2030. In 2023, the Swift Foundation funded a series of posts about Article 6, the carbon trading mechanism under the Paris Agreement.
At some point, I’m planning to accept payments through Substack. REDD-Monitor will always be free, but there will be an option of supporting my work for those who wish to do so and can afford it.
