Timber companies claim carbon credits for trees they don’t cut down
IÑAPARI, Peru — At the entrance to its sprawling tract of virgin Amazon rainforest, the Peruvian timber company Maderacre turns ancient hardwood trees into flooring on an industrial scale. Beside the vast, modern facility, a reddish dirt road leads into the jungle where workers harvest wood that takes centuries to mature. As it systematically removes the oldest trees from this stunning wilderness, Maderacre might seem an improbable seller of carbon credits, the financial instrument that in theory allows consumers and corporations to “offset” their greenhouse gas emissions from air travel, ride-hailing apps, fashion purchases and…Read more …