German authorities have revoked carbon credits from 30 projects in China after finding them suspicious, including credits purchased by ExxonMobil, highlighting the risks companies face when emissions reductions fail regulatory scrutiny, Bloomberg reported Friday.

The projects had claimed to deliver about 2.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions, an amount roughly equivalent to the annual emissions from 500,000 cars. Authorities withdrew the credits after investigations raised questions about whether projects had delivered the reductions they claimed.

One project funded through a Belgian ExxonMobil entity had claimed nearly 96,000 metric tons of emissions reductions. The credits were priced at about €44 (over $51) a ton, putting the value of the credits at roughly €4.2 million ($4.9 million) in total.

…

The German investigation identified a total 45 projects as “suspicious”, with authorities ultimately withdrawing credits from 30 of them, according to a January report by the German Environment Agency, obtained by Bloomberg. The projects were linked to claims involving reductions of emissions from fossil fuel extraction, or upstream emissions reductions (UER).

The investigation also examined the role of Beijing Karbon, a Chinese consultancy behind numerous projects later questioned by German authorities.

The company, identified as the main developer of 45 suspicious projects, including the project funded by ExxonMobil’s unit, had “through deception, created the appearance of legitimate UER projects,” as per the German report.

…

Archived