A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Carbon Markets: One Sheikh’s Interest in Africa’s Resources

Why has a company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) taken an interest in Africa’s forests? Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum ‘s company, Blue Carbon, recently initiated deals with several countries (Liberia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) that exchange management of African forests in these nations for carbon credits. 

Activists often sound the alarm over carbon credits, especially when their purchase allows a country to buy its way out of limiting its carbon emissions. Critics argue that such deals may undermine the Paris Agreement by providing bogus carbon offsets and allowing foreign governments to continue with high levels of emissions.

Concerns over this practice are certain to be aired at the upcoming COP28 in Dubai. These sorts of credits will be part of discussions that will determine the guidelines for carbon trade, and have an impact on the deals proposed by Blue Carbon and other companies in Africa.

READ | The Case for a Caribbean Carbon Market

Incorporating Climate Refugees into National Climate Change Policies

The UNEP’s NDC Action project supports 10 countries, including Bangladesh, Colombia, Jordan, and Uganda, where the issue of forced migration may come into play as climate impacts become more severe. 

In a new policy brief, UNEP emphasizes the importance of integrating human mobility, including displacement, into climate, environment, and development policies and plans. Jordan, Belize, and Armenia are among the nations that have submitted requests to the NDC Action project that address mobility in the context of both climate change adaptation and vulnerability assessments. 

The project aims to create a bridge between humanitarian, development, climate change, and environment fields. It also seeks to align its actions with existing initiatives and strategies on displacement and migration to strengthen resilience to climate-induced migration.

READ | Investigating Climate Migration: Global Realities and Resilience

COP28: Calling for an Open Civic Sphere Ahead of Conference in Dubai

Nineteen human rights groups have urged the U.S. government to publicly call on UAE authorities to release human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor in the lead-up to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. Mansoor is one of 62 Emiratis who have been detained on charges that advocates deem to be politically-motivated.

Mansoor was the recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for activism, and he has been imprisoned since 2017. During this time, he also has faced intimidation and harassment from UAE authorities. Human Rights Watch observed that “Mansoor was the last Emirati human rights defender still working openly in the UAE.”

Activists say that their renewed call for the release of Mansoor and other human rights defenders is essential to the success of COP28 as a forum for candid discussion on climate. They add that his release would demonstrate a commitment to open civic space and accountability in the UAE during the global conference.

READ | COP27 in Egypt: Putting Human Rights on the Climate Agenda