Weapons manufacturers, the oil giant Shell, and financial institutions which poured billions of pounds into fossil fuels are among firms buying Scottish carbon credits, prompting critics to claim the country is experiencing an era of “rampant carbon capitalism”.
Land reform experts have told The Ferret that demand for space to produce the credits and sell them to major firms looking for a quick way to reduce their emissions is contributing to soaring rural land prices across the country. This is preventing local communities from seeing the economic benefits of work to restore nature in their area, they claimed.
The credits – which theoretically ‘offset’ climate pollution created by other parts of the firms’ UK businesses – were produced by Scottish tree planting and peatland restoration projects aimed at absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
