‘Carbon fraud’ in Papua New Guinea involving millions of dollars still a mystery

By NIGEL KAUA | NEWSFLASH

On the July 22nd 2009 at 10:23am founder and executive director of Carbon Planet Limited (now merged with M2M Corporation) in Australia Dave Sag has posted a reply to Malasai blog post “Carbon Trading Under More Scrutiny” by Emmanuel Narakobi saying the vast majority of the money from the REDD+ projects we are working on in PNG will flow to the landowners themselves.

This is a blond statement. He further said Carbon Planet has not lied, bribed anyone, paid any money to the PNG Government and so on as alleged and implied by a couple of journalists who, themselves, admit they don’t really know what they are talking about.

“Those allegations are sheer nonsense and, if true would undermine the very credits we are working hard to generate. No-one would by the credits if they were dishonest.” He wrote on the blog.

Another avid blog reader wrote asking; “So how is Carbon Planet dealing with the fact that policies and legislation for carbon sales in PNG have not been passed yet?”

This is what Dave wrote in response to the question; “your question about why brokers should be involved? It’s a very difficult thing building a successful REDD+ project and very few people in the world, let alone in PNG, have the skills, the science, the money and the motivation to put such a project together properly and to get it registered with the voluntary carbon schemes (VCS), and to then sell those credits in a time of financial uncertainty.

We’ve been working on this and other projects for two years, spending our own money to make sure these projects are done properly.”

He said Carbon Planet Limited is committed to the idea that the people of PNG should be paid properly for the environmental services their forests provide, and that the income from those services should be greater than the income otherwise obtained by tearing those forests up.

“Don’t believe the ignorant nonsense you read in the popular press. Who is behind those stories ask yourself? We have to report to ASIC. We are a public company and have to be transparent in our dealings. What would Carbon Planet gain by behaving illegally? Especially when there could be no possible upside in doing so,” he added.

Dave tried to brush aside all allegations against him and his carbon trading company Carbon Planet Limited in the PNG carbon scandal.

What many of us not aware is that; this is just an iceberg. The real deal is never known. – Via Garamut News.