
-
Experts warn 'AI-written' paper is latest spin on climate change denial
-
PSG eye becoming France's first 'Invincibles'
-
Late birdie burst lifts Ryder to Texas Open lead
-
Five potential Grand National fairytale endings
-
Trump purges national security team after meeting conspiracist
-
More work for McIlroy even with two wins before Masters
-
Trump hopeful of 'great' PGA-LIV golf merger
-
No.1 Scheffler goes for third Masters crown in four years
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump says 'very close to a deal' on TikTok
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
Postecoglou denies taunting Spurs fans in Chelsea defeat
-
Oscar-winning Palestinian director speaks at UN on Israeli settlements
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Fernandez fires Chelsea into fourth as pressure mounts on Postecoglou
-
South Korea court to decide impeached president's fate
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
E.T., no home: Original model of movie alien doesn't sell at auction
-
Italy's Brignone has surgery on broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Trump defiant as tariffs send world markets into panic
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's tariffs list
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Italy's Brignone suffers broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Tonali eager to lead Newcastle back into Champions League

In Brazil, an Amazon reforestation project seeks to redeem carbon markets
In the Brazilian Amazon, workers use metal tubes to sow seedlings in rapid succession, as part of an effort to reforest the jungle with millions of trees.
The project has financial backing from the United States and lucrative contracts with companies such as Google, Microsoft and the McLaren F1 team, who want to use the reforested area to offset millions of tons of carbon emissions.
By planting native species that will thrive in the Amazon, the Brazilian company Mombak hopes to restore credibility to a scandal-ridden carbon market at a crucial time for the warming planet.
"We identified a great opportunity in the market, which is the global goal of reducing emissions in the coming years", said Mombak co-founder Gabriel Silva, at the Turmalina farm in the northern state of Para.
"The Amazon is the best place in the world to reforest," he added, citing the loss of 60 million hectares since 2015.
- Tainted carbon credits -
The carbon market is based on the sale of credits to companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by financing reforestation or protecting existing carbon sinks that absorb CO2.
The idea behind carbon credits has, however, taken a major hit recently as scientific research has repeatedly shown claims of reduced emissions being hugely overestimated -- or even entirely untrue.
The market has also been criticized as a tool for "greenwashing," allowing companies to claim carbon neutrality while doing little to reduce their own emissions.
One reason reforestation projects have proven ineffective is that many focus on monocultures, such as eucalyptus, which weaken ecosystems over time.
Since its founding in 2021, Mombak has bought nine farms from landowners in the northern Brazilian state of Para to replant trees.
The first of these, Turmalina -- a former cattle ranch -- covers 3,000 hectares. It is located to the east of Belem, the capital of Para, which will host the UN COP30 climate conference in November.
- 'Simulate nature' -
In just 18 months, three million cuttings of 120 different indigenous species have been planted.
"We want to simulate nature," to build a "resilient" forest, explained biologist Severino Ribeiro.
The first trees to be planted are those that grow best under the sweltering Amazon sun. Then it will be the turn of more fragile species, which thrive in their shade.
Some of the newly planted trees are already several meters tall.
Among them are 300,000 specimens of six species threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List. They include yellow ipe, a tree that is emblematic in Brazil.
Mombak aims to plant at least 30 million trees by 2032, across an area five times the size of New York's Manhattan island.
The project is financed by private investors, as well as by organizations such as the World Bank.
The United States in November announced a $37.5 million loan to Mombak, during a visit by US President Joe Biden to the Amazon.
Contracts with companies include a precise tonnage of emissions to be offset over a specific period.
Microsoft's contract aims to offset 1.5 million tonnes of carbon -- one of the largest of its kind in the world, according to Mombak.
The amounts of the contracts are being kept secret, but Mombak says they need to be "high," as these projects need "intensive capital" to be viable.
The Mombak project has yet to be validated by Verra, a US organization that is one of the main private certifiers of carbon credits.
Verra last year strengthened its methods after facing criticism that projects it had validated actually saved little or no carbon compared with their promises.
- Sensitive land question -
Professor Lise Vieira da Costa, an expert in carbon markets at the Federal University of Para, said she was "cautious" about newcomer Mombak, but saw encouraging signs in its project.
"The fact that it is betting on biodiverse reforestation is positive," she said.
Da Costa also highlighted Mombak's approach of buying land for reforestation, which "indicates a tendency to have fewer conflicts with the communities."
Land ownership is a major challenge in the Amazon, where many lack titles for their land, creating a legal limbo that is exploited by farmers, ranchers and speculators.
Para courts have seen several cases of misappropriation of land related to carbon credit projects.
To reduce conflict with local communities, Mombak is currently only working on areas "acquired from private owners who have been established for decades, which makes it easier to verify documentation," said Silva.
However, the company is interested in the Para government's first tender for the reforestation of a 10,000-hectare public area.
"Brazil cannot achieve its emission reduction targets by simply reducing deforestation. We need to restore (deforested) areas by creating concessions" of land for the carbon market, said Para governor Helder Barbalho.
Forestry specialist Carlos Augusto Pantoja argues that funds allocated to reforestation should go to "the Amazonian people. They have the know-how and they need support."
"If capitalism is responsible for the climate crisis, I don't think it will be able to solve it."
L.Mason--AMWN