South Pole has confirmed that it has terminated its contract with Carbon Green Investments (CGI), the owner and developer of the Kariba REDD+ project, with immediate effect.

All activities related to carbon certification and carbon credits from the Kariba REDD+ project will now be the responsibility of CGI, and South Pole's role as the carbon asset developer has ended.

The Kariba REDD+ project ((KCRP), a global CO2 compensation project in Zimbabwe covering approximately 785,000 hectares was started in 2011 by a private investor who founded Carbon Green Investments (CGI) and its subsidiary Carbon Green Africa (CGA) to manage the project with the four local Rural District Councils (RDC) and communities.

South Pole was the carbon asset developer for the Kariba REDD+ project, which has been certified and verified multiple times by Verra, both under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) standard as well as the Climate, Community & Biodiversity standard (CCBS). Corporates such as VW, L’Oreal and McKinsey have purchased credits from Kariba.

However, the project has been best with allegations of financial irregularities and criminal activity by local hunters raising questions of its probity and moral direction. The collapse of the project could have ramifications for the whole carbon market, already showing fatigue after successive accusations of greenwashing.

A spokesperson at South Pole said: “Kariba REDD+ is a pioneering and challenging project that has demonstrated the possibilities of large-scale forestry protection projects, from which governments can learn when developing national forest protection schemes. We are not confident that the project meets the high standards we expect from our partners all over the world. It is with great sadness that we have come to this conclusion, since we also believe that the Kariba REDD+ project sought to bring benefits both to the communities it supports and the forest and biodiversity it protects.”

The full responsibility for operating the project on the ground has been, and will continue to be, with CGI's local partner Carbon Green Africa (CGA). The project has always been owned by the communities and run by the operator, CGA. South Pole never had any equity stake in the underlying project.

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