SESSION
Carbon credits: how to make communities’ voices heard
Can we reverse the climate crisis with a single click? This is at the heart of the global debate on carbon offsetting through the purchase of carbon credits. This mechanism allows consumers to offset the emissions generated by their activities through purchasing carbon credits. But, behind this seemingly virtuous goal, there are hidden practices that fuel human rights violations in carbon markets. How can journalists investigate this new market and highlight communities’ perspectives?
This panel will present three investigative projects that examine the winners and losers of carbon credits in rainforest countries. Three environmental investigative journalists will discuss their recent investigations into various carbon credit projects set up in the planet’s largest land-based green lungs, the Amazon, the Congo Basin and South-East Asia. They found that, in many cases, carbon credit projects set up by international companies are taking over forests that are owned by indigenous communities, and thus depriving communities of access to the forest resources on which they depend for their livelihoods.
Andres Bermudez LievanoSpeaker | Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) | Chile
Andrés Bermúdez Liévano is a Colombian investigative journalist and editor at the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP), which fosters cross-border, collaborative investigations in Latin America. His work has focused on environmental issues, including supply chains of key energy transition minerals, violence against environmental defenders, and irregularities in carbon offset market, which are promising but largely unregulated. He is a member of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network, the Pulitzer Center Rainforest Investigations Network and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Linda NgariSpeaker | Freelance investigative journalist | Kenya
Linda Ngari is an accomplished fact-checking and data journalist, open-source intelligence expert, and digital rights advocate with an undergraduate degree in communications from Daystar University in Kenya. At Africa Uncensored, Ngari advanced from fact-checking reporter and sub-editor to editor, leveraging her skills to ensure journalistic accuracy. Her work has featured on BBC Africa Eye, African Arguments, Code for Africa and Africa Uncensored. She has received the International Center of Journalists’ Michael Elliot Award.
Bagja HidayatSpeaker | Tempo | Indonesia
Bagja Hidayat is the deputy editor at Tempo, a leading political and economic magazine in Indonesia, and previously served as managing editor for its investigations desk. He has also been the editor-in-chief of the environmental magazine Forest Digest since 2016. He graduated from the Faculty of Forestry IPB University in 2000, and earned a Master’s in business management from the Binus Business School in 2018.
Augustine Kasambule KatshungaModerator | Pulitzer Center | Democratic Republic of the Congo
Augustine Kasambule Katshunga is the Congo Basin Program Coordinator at the Pulitzer Center and a member of its editorial team. Based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, she is an experienced environmental journalist with over twenty years of expertise covering forest and environmental issues, primarily working with television and also serving as a video producer. She holds academic qualifications in both biology and journalism. Augustine is also the co-founder of the Réseau des Communicateurs pour l’Environnement in DR Congo and has a background in teaching. In addition to her reporting work, she provides training and coaching to journalists, helping to strengthen environmental journalism across the region. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with prominent local and international organizations, including Greenpeace Africa, the World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society. She has developed strong partnerships with journalists, media outlets, civil society organizations, and local communities. In her role at the Pulitzer Center, Augustine plays an active role in sourcing and evaluating proposals from journalists across Africa.