This is the thread to post all information about the suspect carbon trading deal. We lead off with a recent article from The Australian Age newspaper:

The Age
8 May 2009

Climate hero under fire in PNGIlya Gridneff
May 8, 2009

One of the world's leading voices on climate change policy, Kevin Conrad, has been linked to a string of failed business dealings in Papua New Guinea.

Conrad, PNG's UN Special Envoy and Ambassador for Climate Change and Environment, came to international notoriety at the Bali conference in 2007 he told the US to either lead the debate or get out of the way.

This year the UN Environment Program named Conrad a 'Champion of the Earth'.

Last year, Time magazine named Conrad number one "Leader and Visionary" within its annual list of "Heroes of the Environment".

But in PNG, Conrad has a different legacy.

PNG's Public Service Minister Peter O'Neill when opposition leader in parliament in 2007 attacked the government on Conrad's business dealings.

He accused Conrad of involvement in a failed housing scheme in the 1990s for the Public Officers Superannuation Fund where 17 million kina ($A8million) was paid but not one single house was built.

O'Neill also alleged Conrad in the early 2000s was involved in PNG's banking corporation losing almost 35 million kina ($A18million) while landowners lost their coffee plantations because of the collapse of an coffee export company.

PNG's Eastern Highlands province Governor Mal Smith told AAP that Highlanders who lost coffee plantations due to Conrad fear they will lose their forests through his climate change dealings.

"We don't trust him with the money carbon trading will bring," he said.

Paul Barker director of PNG think-tank, the Institute of National Affairs, said Conrad's international persona was quite different to the perception in PNG.

"There are tens of thousands of (superannuation fund) contributors now asking where did the funds go?" he asked.

"And now if he is going to be directly involved in a mechanism managing trust funds for carbon trading, well concerns about the past need to be resolved.

"He really needs to do a little bit of explaining.

"There is a wide public scepticism within PNG."

Conrad was notably absent from this week's PNG Office of Climate Change and Environment Sustainability roadshow touring the country to promote and explain their push towards carbon trading.

And Conrad did not respond to approaches in relation to O'Neill's allegations.

But in an interview earlier this year with AAP, when asked if he was a failed businessman Conrad said: "I've succeeded more than I've failed. If you look at PNG every businessman has failed about as often as they have succeeded and the reason is because the government has had too much control."

Forest carbon market already shows cracks
Wed Jun 3, 2009 8:16pm EDT

By Gerard Wynn and Sunanda Creagh

LONDON/NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - It could save the rainforests of Borneo, slow climate change and the international community backs it. But a plan to pay tropical countries not to chop down trees risks being discredited by opportunists even before it starts.

A forest carbon market is emerging in anticipation of a global, U.N. climate deal in December in Copenhagen, expected to allow rich countries to pay to protect rainforests as a cheap alternative to cutting their own greenhouse gases.

Officials in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have underlined how things may go awry.

Reuters has uncovered evidence of a multi-million-dollar offer of assistance from carbon brokers to a government agency, and confusion over whether offset sales were from valid projects.

There is growing interest from countries and companies in the developed world to buy the rights to the carbon stored in trees as they grow, to offset their own emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

But development and environment groups have long warned that suddenly placing a big value on rainforests could spur friction and even conflict in some developing nations, because of uncertain tenure rights, corruption and inadequate policing.

At a conference on the Indonesian island of Bali last week, Interpol environmental crime official Peter Younger told Reuters he expected fraudulent trading of carbon credits, as organized crime infiltrates the system of companies and countries in the developed world buying rights to the stored carbon.

Indonesia last month became the first country to set out some form of regulation for how its scheme will work, but stressed it has not yet developed a model for the most sensitive issue of revenue collection.

Papua New Guinea, which has some of the world's fastest-disappearing rainforest and has championed the forest carbon market, established its Office of Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability (OCCES) in 2008 to develop forest protection projects.

The agency suspended in January all plans to sell rights to the carbon stored in its rainforests after deals sparked land ownership disputes, a senior official told Reuters.

"All projects are suspended while we get some experience," said Theo Yasause, executive director of OCCES.

One such project included the department's own proposal to give exclusive rights to a large area of rainforest to two brokers which would in return donate A$10 million ($8 million) to fund the agency's creation.

Brokers develop projects for landowners to sell the carbon stored in their forests in return for a share of those rights.

ASSISTANCE

In government papers dated June 12 2008, seen by Reuters that Yasause signed and has authenticated, two brokers offered to help fund the OCCES agency. They were named in the memo as Earth Sky and Climate Assist PNG but could not be located for comment.

"That memo was in June, by January everything was stopped," said Yasause. "I said 'no, let's set a policy first.'"

In the memo Yasause asked PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare to counter-sign a certificate allowing the brokers to sell forest carbon offsets valued at $500 million.

"The (two brokers are) prepared to put in 10 million Australian Dollars to assist the establishment of the Office of Climate Change," Yasause wrote in the June 2008 memo. The OCCES would also earn 20 percent of any proceeds from carbon sales.

When the OCCES was created, Prime Minister Somare said it should be self-sufficient through funds generated from forest projects.

When asked why he thought his agency should receive such a large sum, Yasause said: "Initially we thought we should get some of that. It wasn't meant to set it as a policy. When I started I thought (it) could come as a tax to government.

"It was only a proposal. Nothing came through," he added.

MESS

PNG is now crafting an "open tendering" policy to sell rights to the carbon stored in its rainforests, Yasause said. That would apply to one project initially, called April Salome, when the policy was up and running.

"We suspended all communications and dealings with the brokers at this stage. I put a notice up saying 'there's no dealings as of January.'"

However, another broker and project consultant, Swiss-based South Pole Carbon Asset Management, said it had rights to sell carbon credits from a certain portion of the April Salome project and would continue to do so.

"We have all kinds of letters of (government) support, approval and so on, including letters after January," said Christian Dannecker, principal at South Pole, who also referred to written authorization for the project from 160 landowner groups in the region.

South Pole is already selling the carbon rights before the project is approved by a third party, called validation, a common practice in carbon markets. The timing of approval was unsure given it was "in an early phase," said Dannecker.

The company estimates April Salome will generate 1 million tonnes of avoided carbon dioxide emissions per year, but that was not formally audited. "We're still putting together data," said Dannecker. "It's not done, just estimates."

One buyer of the credits from South Pole was a Spanish environment group promoting ecological projects, CeroCO2, which in turn has sold the offsets to individuals, small companies and an event in Zaragoza, for example to offset travel.

The company has sold 660 tonnes at about 10 euros each. The buyers paid up-front but the group would replace the credits if the project was never approved, a group spokeswoman said.

CeroCO2 had told their clients that the project was at an early stage and that the carbon offsets were still hypothetical, she added.

CeroCO2's Web site said the offsets met a standard devised by U.S.-based auditors called the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), but they did not.

"We have not received any documents about this project," said Joanna Durbin, a director at the CCBA.

"It was a mistake in our Web site," the CeroCO2 spokeswoman said. "We are human." CeroCO2 removed the project from its Web site after speaking to Reuters.

"It all goes to show what a horrible mess will ensue when there is neither a basic level of governance in the countries where the forestry credits are supposedly being generated, nor any regulation in the international markets where they are being traded," said Simon Counsell, director of the Rainforest Foundation UK.

Counsell urged much slower adoption of forest carbon rules, rather than rushing these in time for a December climate deal.

ELIGIBLE

Industrialized countries already pay developing nations to avoid greenhouse gas emissions, for example to build dams, wind farms or improve the efficiency of their factories, in a $6.5 billion trade in carbon offsets.

They view such offsets as a cut-price way to meet their carbon caps under the Kyoto Protocol, instead of taking more costly action at home, for example imposing carbon taxes on industry or households.

Payments to conserve trees are not eligible under Kyoto, but there is enormous pressure to widen the scheme to include rainforests under the successor climate pact to be thrashed out in Copenhagen.

Papua New Guinea helped found the 40-nation Coalition for Rainforest Nations which wants support for the system, Reduced Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD), under a new treaty.

Most PNG rainforest is owned by communities and indigenous groups, but the government still hands out concessions, said Andy White at Washington-based Rights and Resources Initiative.

The head of the Office of Climate Change, Yasause, produced papers in a PNG court on Monday confirming that he had suspended a deal -- which he had originally approved -- involving another carbon fund, after complaints from landowners that they had not been consulted over sales of carbon rights in a forested area called Kamula Doso.

"I am not working with them until I get clarity in this landowner dispute, we cannot do REDD in those places if there is fighting between landowners, it will kill it," Yasause told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Daniel Fineren; Editing by Sara Ledwith)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

PNG carbon racket dupes landowners

Posted at 05:14 on 12 June, 2009 UTC

Landowners in Papua New Guinea are being cheated by conmen offering fake carbon trading deals and promising big returns.

AAP reports the carbon trading racket has duped at least 500 villagers since late last year around Popondetta in Oro Province.

Some people have paid 400 US dollars to register as shareholders in a carbon trading company after being promised big dividends from the millions of dollars expected to be made from carbon trading in the country.

The villagers receive a receipt from an agent but never see their money again.

The conservation organisation, WWF says there is confusion in Papua New Guinea about how to make best use of its lucrative rainforests

WWF spokesperson Dave Melick, says people are calling it sky money or selling the air.

This month, Reuters and The Economist magazine reported a litany of anomalies with PNGs Office of Climate Change.

It appears the office has been offering millions of dollars worth of carbon credits while no legislation or policy exists in the country or under United Nations guidelines.

The Prime Ministers spokesperson says a review is being conducted into the apparent irregularities.

Government sources says the Climate Change Office director Dr Theo Yasause could soon be sacked.

News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand

New Scam from Climatic Office linked to Somares
June 7 2009 at 9:13 AM
No score for this post Climatic Corruption Watch (CCW)
A new company called CLIMATE ASSIST (PNG) Pty Limited was registered on the 4rd of April,2009 in Queensland.The principal place of business is located in 84 High Street, North Rockhampton, QLD 4701.
As per the company abstracts the company name : Climate Assist (PNG) Limited.
A.C.N 135216607 (Australian Company Number) Registration date: 04.02.09. The current company officers are; Both director and secratary - Mr Corby Gregory Thomas with address as; 74 Hume Street,Toowoomba, Qld 4350. Shares are ORDIANARY SHARES on a one dallar company as per the shares structure.A single share holder record also shows that Mr Corby is the sole custodian of this PNG Climateic Office venture to amass properties from the proceeds from the climatic funds.
More details on Mr Corby Gregory Thomas who is he ?????
Gender - Male Other companies owned by him - D G Glendon Pty Ltd and D G ARGYLE Pty Limited these companies has since been deregistered.His DOB - 28 September 1955 in Orange, NSW with current address at 74 Hume Street Toowoomba, Qld 4702.
Mr Thomas is acting onbehalf of PNG Climatic office to sollicit funds in connection to Dr Theo's office. They have already lined up prime properties in Toowoomba to purchase under this company owned by one man who will then transfer these properties to the Somares. Contracts of 20 farms and 6 residencial properties have been approves (Millions of Dolars)with funds expected from PNG Treasury Department but have changed and to have funds redirected from overseas.
I feel sorry for PNG people please use this information to keep track on this issue you all might miss out if this monies are spend by these individuals.

Corby Thomas Gregory is said to have been associated with the Somares as one of their adopted sons in his days in Wewak.

PNG carbon trade highly suspicious
June 12 2009 at 10:32 AM
No score for this post Anonymous
PNG carbon trade highly suspicious

PNG is playing a lead role in the United Nations programme reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD).
The logging industry describes REDD as an attempt to coax PNG into restricting logging in return for cash.
Even though a global emissions scheme has yet to be defined which makes measuring carbon credits impossible the Government insists that it will handle potential carbon trading deals on behalf of the resource owners.
The issue of carbon trading requires more clarification before any deals can proceed as it will cause enormous frictions between the Government and the landowners.
However, the director of the Climate Change and Environment Sustainability (OCCES), Dr Theo Yasause, claims ownership is not a sticking point and that the State has absolute control over the resources.
Once the landowners are signed up, it doesnt give the landowners the legitimacy, only the State has the legitimate authority.
The Government has failed in the forestry, oil and gas sectors.
There is no equitable distribution of benefits coming from these resource developments and, at this early point in time, when the office of climate change is not fully set up, I wonder how well Dr Yasause understands climate change and carbon trade.
At the moment, the Government does not have any policy framework for carbon trade and climate change in PNG.
Therefore, the concept of compensating developing countries for not cutting down their forests is proving difficult.
Furthermore, PNG also wants money for increasing its forest carbon stocks as well as avoiding deforestation.
This is what I have gathered thus far:
1. The OCCES has no legal and policy framework in place. Therefore, any commitments that it has made so far have no effect. All proclamations made by Dr Yasause have been made on the assumption of authority.
2. The position of director of OCCES was never advertised publicly. Dr Yasause was hand-picked by the Somare Government.
3. Doubts are still circulating whether Dr Yasause is qualified.
4. The office is working in isolation and does not attempt to utilise any services of prominent scientists in the country.
5. Newspapers report OCCES are going on a frenzy, scrambling for information on climate change all over the place. This is a clear indication of incompetent, inexperienced and unqualified personnel holding positions in the office.
6. Confusing public notices in the media by the office to divert public attention and create opportunities for middlemen to handle REDD funds and make it miserable for the real resource owners.
7. Two companies have been issued certificates to trade carbon credits to date. Why the hurry when there is no law and policy framework in place? A pertinent question is do they have forests themselves? You cannot be riding on other peoples forest resources.
8. The office does not reflect a true representation of the resource owners of PNG.

Kipali Kana
Edinburgh, Scotland

THE WHOLE CARBON TRADING DEAL FOR OUR COUNTRY, PNG, IS A SCAM. MONEY IS BEING TRADED BEHIND THE SCENES. OBVIOUSLY GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATS ARE INVOLVED IN THE SCAM.


Eco firm pays out for PNG carbon tradingIlya Gridneff
June 18, 2009
An Australian-based environmental company has paid $1.2 million to develop carbon trading projects in Papua New Guinea where no policy or legislation exists to facilitate such deals.

South Australian-based Carbon Planet, with offices across Australia and in London, promotes itself as a leading force in the global 'carbon economy'.

An Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) document obtained by AAP shows Carbon Planet's financial statement to the end of June 2008 reporting a $A1.2 million payment for development of carbon trading in PNG.

Carbon Planet chairman Jim Johnson refused to comment when asked by AAP about the funding in PNG.

"I've got nothing to talk about," he said.

"I am really sick of you people casting aspersions on my company.

"No payment has been made to PNG, your information is incorrect."

AAP read out ASIC's Carbon Planet statement which says: "Payments include $1.2 million of advanced funding on origination projects in PNG which the company expects to recoup in the 2009 financial year."

Johnson responded: "I am not explaining at all. I am not having this conversation," before hanging up.

PNG has the world's third-largest rainforest and the government has great interest in turning the asset into carbon trading revenue, but at present no such policy or legislation exists in PNG, nor under UN guidelines.

Earlier this week, PNG's Office of Climate Change (OCC) director Dr Theo Yasause denied that his office accepted money from foreign companies or made any deals despite, leaked documents suggesting otherwise.

AAP understands Carbon Planet is working on one scheme with Nupan PNG, run by Australian Kirk Roberts, who has developed potential projects in PNG's Kamula Doso regions, in Western Province.

In November 2008, the OCC issued a contract for one million tonnes of voluntary carbon credits to Nupan for the Kamula Dosa project.

Dr Yasause said the OCC document issued to Nupan was a "sample" and was now null and void.

Also, an ongoing court battle with Kamula Dosa landowners restricts any business dealings in the 80,000ha of pristine forest.

Carbon Planet's literature predicts the global voluntary carbon market will be worth around $US9.9 billion-$US17.1 billion ($A12.5 billion-$A21.5 billion) per year by 2012.

They expect the global compliance market to be worth $US2 trillion ($A2.5 trillion) by 2020.

But while carbon trading has the potential to be a lucrative business, Carbon Planet has other financial issues.

KPMG partner Gary Savage in a Carbon Planet audit flagged the company's $4.6 million after tax loss by the year ended June 30 2008, and by October net losses had reached $6 million.

"These circumstances indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern..." Savage wrote.

ASIC would not comment.

© 2009 AAP

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