Grab accused of greenwashing by offering 'junk' carbon offsets

 

E-hailing company Grab has been accused of greenwashing its impact on climate change by offering customers carbon offsets which are likely to be “junk” or questionable, said environmental watchdog RimbaWatch.

Carbon offsets are additional payments charged to consumers to “offset” the amount of emissions produced from consuming the product, by using the payments to support emission reduction projects elsewhere.

Grab allows customers to pay RM0.20 per ride or RM0.10 for GrabFood or GrabMart orders, to offset the emissions they incur from the ride or delivery.

The payment goes to buying carbon credits from forest protection projects Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, verified by Climate Community and Biodiversity (CCB), and the Katingan Mentaya project verified by the Verified Carbon Standards (also known as Verra).

However, RimbaWatch said the Katingan Mentaya project has been deemed questionable, along with its auditor, Verra, according to investigative journalists, NGOs, and academia.

Among others, investigations by investigative journalism publications Source Material and Zeitgeist, and Australia’s Griffiths University, have found that Verra was overstating the carbon offsetting of the projects it certified or using suspect methodology, RimbaWatch said.

The Source Material and Zeitgeist investigation, using data from three scientific studies, found only six percent of the 95 million tonnes of carbon dioxide claimed to be offset constituted real emission reductions.

This is akin to claiming the project reduced deforestation the size of Italy (30.2 million hectares), when in fact it only protected an area the size of Venice (41,000ha), the publications found.

Malaysiakini has contacted Grab for a response.

Already a protected area

RimbaWatch noted Grab’s carbon offsetting scheme is also questionable because the area which it is supposed to be benefitting is already a protected area, with or without the carbon offsetting scheme.

“The Katingan Mentaya project, which is one of the beneficiaries of Grab’s carbon neutral fee, has been criticised by a Greenpeace report for being based on ‘questionable assumptions’...

“(The) forest would possibly have remained even if the project did not exist, and therefore no emissions reductions or offsetting took place,” it said.

Worse, Greenpeace reported that since the project was initiated in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, forest cover had decreased, forcing locals to migrate, resulting in land conflicts.

The report was also corroborated by findings by journalists of Nikkei Asia, it said.

“RimbaWatch therefore believes this ‘carbon neutral’ claim to be an example of greenwashing, which should be addressed by Grab,” it said.

Greenwashing refers to entities misleading the public that it is doing more to protect the environment than it is.

“RimbaWatch supports Grab for setting a net-zero by 2040 commitment, and for pledging to decarbonise their vehicles over time. However, the use of offsets in this manner cannot be a part of a credible net-zero strategy,” the environmental group said.

Instead, it urged the e-haling and food delivery giant to abandon the concept of carbon offsets, and instead make voluntary donations to conservation while at the same time working to reduce its own carbon emissions.

It added that the international community and big corporations like Shell, EasyJet, and Nestle are already moving away from the “discredited” concept of carbon off-setting.

“In line with international developments any ‘carbon neutral’ claims must be avoided,” it said. - Mkini