In April 2026, the NGO Coalition of Liberia, a network of more than 25 civil society organisations working in the forest sector, sent a letter to Liberia’s president, Joseph Boakai. The letter urged Boakai to defer the endorsement adn signing of Liberia’s Draft Carbon Market Policy “until a genuine, inclusive, and credible national validation process has been conducted”.
Rainforest Rescue recently launched a petition based on the April 2026 NGO Coalition letter. So far, more than 46,000 people have signed the petition.
In a REDD-Monitor post about Liberia’s Carbon Market Policy in May 2026, I highlighted the influence of two US-based organisations in developing the Policy — the Coalition for Rainforest Nations and Gordian Knot Strategies.
In September 2024, the Coalition for Rainforest Nations signed a Letter of Engagement with the government of Liberia to provide technical support to prepare the generation of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs as carbon credits are labelled under the Paris Agreement).
In January 2026, the Liberian government hired Gordian Knot Strategies, to provide technical and financial guidance in the development of the country’s Carbon Market Policy. Sean Penrith, CEO of Gordian Knot Strategies, responded saying that he would be “more than happy to discuss directly with you if you want to discuss further”. REDD-Monitor has sent him some questions about the role played by Gordian Knot Strategies, and looks forward to posting the interview in full and unedited in due course.
African Development Bank
In May 2026, the Financial Times reported that the African Development Bank was putting pressure on the Liberian government to pass the Carbon Market Policy. Two people told the Financial Times that a portion of AfDB funding would depend on the government approving a carbon sales framework.
New Narratives reports that the African Development Bank denied this claim. On 20 May 2026, the Bank approved financing for Liberia “aimed at strengthening the country’s fiscal sustainability and improving governance in its mining sector, but with no mention of carbon trading”.
Rees Mwasambili, country manager of the Liberia office of the African Development Bank, told New Narratives that “carbon market trading decisions are for Liberia government to make, on Liberia’s terms and timeline”.
“Given that the African Development Bank has indicated that it is no longer rushing the process, I believe there is no reason for the government to rush it either,” Dayugar Johnson of the Civil Society Independent Forest Monitors told New Narratives.
But civil society organisations remain concerned about key issues including land rights, revenue sharing, and the free, prior and informed consent of communities to carbon trading on their land.
James Otto is programme coordinator for the Community Rights and Corporate Governance Program at the Liberian NGO, the Sustainable Development Institute. “The carbon market is evading the truth,” he told Rainforest Rescue. “It puts forest-dependent people at the margin and takes away their dignity. The government needs to be honestly sincere, openly engage engage with forest communities and place community priorities at the top of the carbon policy development.”
UNDP
Meanwhile UNDP Liberia is working with the Carbon Market Authority to “advance carbon market development”. Back in June 2024, UNDP held an online meeting titled, “Making carbon markets work for forest communities in Liberia.”
In June 2026, at a meeting between UNDP Liberia and the Carbon Market Authority, Aliou Dia, UNDP Liberia’s resident representative, said that, “Carbon markets present a unique opportunity to translate natural capital into sustainable economic value, while ensuring benefits reach communities and support long-term environmental sustainability.”
Which may sound good, but the reality reflected in Rainforest Rescue’s petition suggest something completely different is taking place. Here is the petition letter to president Boakai:
To: President Joseph Nyuma Boakai
Your Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai,
Liberia is globally recognized for its outstanding forest protection. Western chimpanzees are one of its flagship species, and the survival of their habitat is largely thanks to local communities who protect the forests they depend on.
We are deeply concerned that the proposed Carbon Market Policy hurts these communities and alienates them from environmental protection. While they have safeguarded Liberia’s forests for generations, the policy risks rewarding the government, developers and traders far more than the people who have long protected these lands.
We note that endorsing the draft Caron Market Poilcy without a robust national validation risks:
undermining the legitimacy and public trust in national policy, as well as damaging the international reputation of Liberia, given that the policy potentially undermines Liberia’s ability to maintain its bilateral investment treaties and fulfill its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement;
exposing communities to arrangements that they neither fully understand nor have consented to – thus a recipe for future community-investor conflicts;
creating conditions for inequitable or unfavorable carbon agreements that may be difficult to renegotiate;
embedding structural gaps into future legislation on carbon markets and climate governance.
We respectfully urge that:
the endorsement and signing of the draft Carbon Market Policy be deferred;
a comprehensive national validation process be convened, ensuring the full and effective participation of communities, civil society, and other stakeholders at the grassroots level across affected regions;
adequate time and space be provided for technical review, public dialogue, and incorporation of stakeholder inputs before final approval.
Yours faithfully,