Carbon Cowboys Running High in Papua New Guinea

Carbon scandal snares Australian

By Marian Wilkinson and Ben Cubby

An Australian company has been swept up in a $100 million carbon trading scandal in Papua New Guinea.

The scandal has led to the removal of the head of the country's Office of Climate Change and has prompted an investigation into claims that fake carbon trading certificates were used to persuade landowners to sign over the rights to their forests.

It threatens to undermine efforts by Climate Change Minister Penny Wong to win support at UN climate talks for a global carbon trading scheme that would include forests in countries such as PNG and Indonesia.

Senator Wong yesterday declined to answer questions on whether the scandal had been raised at UN climate talks last month, or whether she had discussed the crisis with PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare or his officials.

The chief executive of the company Carbon Planet, Dave Sag, admitted to The Age that his PNG partner, Kirk Roberts, used mocked-up carbon certificates signed by PNG's Office of Climate Change director Theo Yasause as ''props'' when negotiating with local landowners. But he denied PNG media reports that the certificates were stolen or intended to mislead.

Kirk Roberts (center) at the signing of a forestry agreement in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province

Mr Sag said the certificates, which purport to represent 1 million tonnes of ''voluntary carbon credits'' issued by the UN under the ''Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation'' (REDD) scheme, were created by PNG officials simply to explain the scheme.
''Those certificates are worthless. They're not backed by anything.

They really are props. No one who knows anything about carbon would take them in any way seriously'', he said. ''They ended up in Kirk's hands because they would have been produced as a prop to be taken out and waved in front of people in order to provide some physicality to what is essentially an ephemeral thing''.

Carbon Planet is expected to list on the stock exchange soon and told investors recently it had $100 million in potential REDD projects in PNG. Mr Sag said this figure came from ''estimates based on contracts we have in place''.

But PNG's new acting Climate Change Director, Dr Wari Iamo, warned landowners on Monday not to sign any carbon trading agreements over their forests as the scandal has escalated.
Mr Iamo said PNG has no laws or policies that cover carbon trading and even voluntary agreements ''are not currently supported by the Government''.

Climate talks in Copenhagen in December will decide whether the REDD scheme will get official UN recognition. The scheme, which is being heavily backed by Australia, is designed to allow developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by saving their forests from logging. In exchange, landowners would earn ''carbon credits'' they could sell to high-polluting industries overseas.

Since serious discussions over the scheme began, scores of carbon traders like Carbon Planet have moved into PNG and Indonesia, trying to sign up landowners. Wilderness Society organiser Tim King said, ''Carbon finance and REDD have triggered a 'gold rush' mentality with companies and private individuals swarming across the country looking for landowners to sign up.''

Carbon Planet and its partner, Mr Roberts, have been criticised for persuading landowners to hand over power of attorney to Mr Roberts. After securing landowners' legal rights, he signs contracts with Carbon Planet, which then acts as the broker to sell the carbon rights to their forests.

Mr Sag said he did not believe there was a conflict of interest in the power-of-attorney arrangement, despite complaints from some angry landowners. A spokeswoman for Senator Wong said the minister remains committed to working with PNG over future forest carbon markets. ''As with any international market, minimum performance and institutional standards will be demanded from suppliers of credits to provide investors with certainty and confidence,'' she said.

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Carbon Cowboys Running High in Papua New Guinea

Carbon scandal snares Australian

By Marian Wilkinson and Ben Cubby

An Australian company has been swept up in a $100 million carbon trading scandal in Papua New Guinea.

The scandal has led to the removal of the head of the country's Office of Climate Change and has prompted an investigation into claims that fake carbon trading certificates were used to persuade landowners to sign over the rights to their forests.

It threatens to undermine efforts by Climate Change Minister Penny Wong to win support at UN climate talks for a global carbon trading scheme that would include forests in countries such as PNG and Indonesia.

Senator Wong yesterday declined to answer questions on whether the scandal had been raised at UN climate talks last month, or whether she had discussed the crisis with PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare or his officials.

The chief executive of the company Carbon Planet, Dave Sag, admitted to The Age that his PNG partner, Kirk Roberts, used mocked-up carbon certificates signed by PNG's Office of Climate Change director Theo Yasause as ''props'' when negotiating with local landowners. But he denied PNG media reports that the certificates were stolen or intended to mislead.

Kirk Roberts (center) at the signing of a forestry agreement in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province

Mr Sag said the certificates, which purport to represent 1 million tonnes of ''voluntary carbon credits'' issued by the UN under the ''Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation'' (REDD) scheme, were created by PNG officials simply to explain the scheme.
''Those certificates are worthless. They're not backed by anything.

They really are props. No one who knows anything about carbon would take them in any way seriously'', he said. ''They ended up in Kirk's hands because they would have been produced as a prop to be taken out and waved in front of people in order to provide some physicality to what is essentially an ephemeral thing''.

Carbon Planet is expected to list on the stock exchange soon and told investors recently it had $100 million in potential REDD projects in PNG. Mr Sag said this figure came from ''estimates based on contracts we have in place''.

But PNG's new acting Climate Change Director, Dr Wari Iamo, warned landowners on Monday not to sign any carbon trading agreements over their forests as the scandal has escalated.
Mr Iamo said PNG has no laws or policies that cover carbon trading and even voluntary agreements ''are not currently supported by the Government''.

Climate talks in Copenhagen in December will decide whether the REDD scheme will get official UN recognition. The scheme, which is being heavily backed by Australia, is designed to allow developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by saving their forests from logging. In exchange, landowners would earn ''carbon credits'' they could sell to high-polluting industries overseas.

Since serious discussions over the scheme began, scores of carbon traders like Carbon Planet have moved into PNG and Indonesia, trying to sign up landowners. Wilderness Society organiser Tim King said, ''Carbon finance and REDD have triggered a 'gold rush' mentality with companies and private individuals swarming across the country looking for landowners to sign up.''

Carbon Planet and its partner, Mr Roberts, have been criticised for persuading landowners to hand over power of attorney to Mr Roberts. After securing landowners' legal rights, he signs contracts with Carbon Planet, which then acts as the broker to sell the carbon rights to their forests.

Mr Sag said he did not believe there was a conflict of interest in the power-of-attorney arrangement, despite complaints from some angry landowners. A spokeswoman for Senator Wong said the minister remains committed to working with PNG over future forest carbon markets. ''As with any international market, minimum performance and institutional standards will be demanded from suppliers of credits to provide investors with certainty and confidence,'' she said.

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Carbon Cowboys Running High in Papua New Guinea

Carbon scandal snares Australian

By Marian Wilkinson and Ben Cubby

An Australian company has been swept up in a $100 million carbon trading scandal in Papua New Guinea.

The scandal has led to the removal of the head of the country's Office of Climate Change and has prompted an investigation into claims that fake carbon trading certificates were used to persuade landowners to sign over the rights to their forests.

It threatens to undermine efforts by Climate Change Minister Penny Wong to win support at UN climate talks for a global carbon trading scheme that would include forests in countries such as PNG and Indonesia.

Senator Wong yesterday declined to answer questions on whether the scandal had been raised at UN climate talks last month, or whether she had discussed the crisis with PNG Prime Minister Michael Somare or his officials.

The chief executive of the company Carbon Planet, Dave Sag, admitted to The Age that his PNG partner, Kirk Roberts, used mocked-up carbon certificates signed by PNG's Office of Climate Change director Theo Yasause as ''props'' when negotiating with local landowners. But he denied PNG media reports that the certificates were stolen or intended to mislead.

Kirk Roberts (center) at the signing of a forestry agreement in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province

Mr Sag said the certificates, which purport to represent 1 million tonnes of ''voluntary carbon credits'' issued by the UN under the ''Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation'' (REDD) scheme, were created by PNG officials simply to explain the scheme.
''Those certificates are worthless. They're not backed by anything.

They really are props. No one who knows anything about carbon would take them in any way seriously'', he said. ''They ended up in Kirk's hands because they would have been produced as a prop to be taken out and waved in front of people in order to provide some physicality to what is essentially an ephemeral thing''.

Carbon Planet is expected to list on the stock exchange soon and told investors recently it had $100 million in potential REDD projects in PNG. Mr Sag said this figure came from ''estimates based on contracts we have in place''.

But PNG's new acting Climate Change Director, Dr Wari Iamo, warned landowners on Monday not to sign any carbon trading agreements over their forests as the scandal has escalated.
Mr Iamo said PNG has no laws or policies that cover carbon trading and even voluntary agreements ''are not currently supported by the Government''.

Climate talks in Copenhagen in December will decide whether the REDD scheme will get official UN recognition. The scheme, which is being heavily backed by Australia, is designed to allow developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by saving their forests from logging. In exchange, landowners would earn ''carbon credits'' they could sell to high-polluting industries overseas.

Since serious discussions over the scheme began, scores of carbon traders like Carbon Planet have moved into PNG and Indonesia, trying to sign up landowners. Wilderness Society organiser Tim King said, ''Carbon finance and REDD have triggered a 'gold rush' mentality with companies and private individuals swarming across the country looking for landowners to sign up.''

Carbon Planet and its partner, Mr Roberts, have been criticised for persuading landowners to hand over power of attorney to Mr Roberts. After securing landowners' legal rights, he signs contracts with Carbon Planet, which then acts as the broker to sell the carbon rights to their forests.

Mr Sag said he did not believe there was a conflict of interest in the power-of-attorney arrangement, despite complaints from some angry landowners. A spokeswoman for Senator Wong said the minister remains committed to working with PNG over future forest carbon markets. ''As with any international market, minimum performance and institutional standards will be demanded from suppliers of credits to provide investors with certainty and confidence,'' she said.

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Papua New Guinea relations: breaking the Gordian knot

By Paul Oates

John Fowke’s erudite article is very close to the thoughts of many of us. The question that hangs in the air is: how can we change the status quo? It could well be that Somare is losing his grip and his cartel will be swept aside, but who takes over? More of the same or something different?

The bad old days in South America comes rapidly to mind, where one dictator was continually replaced by another under the guise of a revolution of the people. People power is just that: leaderless and disorganised.

If Sir Mekere Morauta, Sir Julius Chan and Bart Philemon were to lead a coalition (and it does have to be a coalition) to power, will they be any different than the present lot, given the traditional way political power has to be won and kept?

What has changed with DFAT since John Fowke wrote his piece in 2006? Not much, if anything. Sure there has been a change in government, but there doesn't seem to have been a regime change at AusAID nor in its methodology.

The essence of the problem is that there are at least two different and independent impediments to changing the current impasse. While the causes of each impediment might be worlds apart, each conspires to keep the other in place.

The 'Doyens of DFAT' (and this includes hangers on) and the ‘traditional PNG bigman culture' may be dissimilar in background yet they are distinctly similar in their desire to prevent change. They are both doing very nicely, thank you.

Why change if we don't have to? That's the nub of the problem. So what's the answer? There's only one real response: agreed responsibility and accountability. The weak points of both camps (DFAT and the PNG elite) are their political power bases.

To hold the collective conglomeration of our foreign aid programs accountable would be to attack the Gordian Knot. To get the Australian government to elucidate a workable and accountable aid program for PNG and the Pacific Rim is something to be worked towards.

The second, equally important initiative must come from the PNG people through their elected leaders. Here there may be a glimmer of hope as Sir Mekere and Bart Philemon actually started to effect worthwhile changes before they were white anted and ended up in Opposition.

If a responsible and accountable PNG government were to require the Australian government to effect overdue change to our ‘neighbourly’ foreign aid architecture, it would be a good forward step.

Similarly, if the PNGAA were to suggest a round table where interested organisations could be evaluated on their effectiveness in achieving results, maybe there might be some way ahead for a more positive outcome. What would not be productive would be to commission yet another 'talk fest'.

An agreed agenda with stated outcomes and benchmarks should be set in place prior to any conference taking place. Invitations could then be issued to all those who have something constructive to offer.

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Papua New Guinea relations: breaking the Gordian knot

By Paul Oates

John Fowke’s erudite article is very close to the thoughts of many of us. The question that hangs in the air is: how can we change the status quo? It could well be that Somare is losing his grip and his cartel will be swept aside, but who takes over? More of the same or something different?

The bad old days in South America comes rapidly to mind, where one dictator was continually replaced by another under the guise of a revolution of the people. People power is just that: leaderless and disorganised.

If Sir Mekere Morauta, Sir Julius Chan and Bart Philemon were to lead a coalition (and it does have to be a coalition) to power, will they be any different than the present lot, given the traditional way political power has to be won and kept?

What has changed with DFAT since John Fowke wrote his piece in 2006? Not much, if anything. Sure there has been a change in government, but there doesn't seem to have been a regime change at AusAID nor in its methodology.

The essence of the problem is that there are at least two different and independent impediments to changing the current impasse. While the causes of each impediment might be worlds apart, each conspires to keep the other in place.

The 'Doyens of DFAT' (and this includes hangers on) and the ‘traditional PNG bigman culture' may be dissimilar in background yet they are distinctly similar in their desire to prevent change. They are both doing very nicely, thank you.

Why change if we don't have to? That's the nub of the problem. So what's the answer? There's only one real response: agreed responsibility and accountability. The weak points of both camps (DFAT and the PNG elite) are their political power bases.

To hold the collective conglomeration of our foreign aid programs accountable would be to attack the Gordian Knot. To get the Australian government to elucidate a workable and accountable aid program for PNG and the Pacific Rim is something to be worked towards.

The second, equally important initiative must come from the PNG people through their elected leaders. Here there may be a glimmer of hope as Sir Mekere and Bart Philemon actually started to effect worthwhile changes before they were white anted and ended up in Opposition.

If a responsible and accountable PNG government were to require the Australian government to effect overdue change to our ‘neighbourly’ foreign aid architecture, it would be a good forward step.

Similarly, if the PNGAA were to suggest a round table where interested organisations could be evaluated on their effectiveness in achieving results, maybe there might be some way ahead for a more positive outcome. What would not be productive would be to commission yet another 'talk fest'.

An agreed agenda with stated outcomes and benchmarks should be set in place prior to any conference taking place. Invitations could then be issued to all those who have something constructive to offer.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Papua New Guinea relations: breaking the Gordian knot

By Paul Oates

John Fowke’s erudite article is very close to the thoughts of many of us. The question that hangs in the air is: how can we change the status quo? It could well be that Somare is losing his grip and his cartel will be swept aside, but who takes over? More of the same or something different?

The bad old days in South America comes rapidly to mind, where one dictator was continually replaced by another under the guise of a revolution of the people. People power is just that: leaderless and disorganised.

If Sir Mekere Morauta, Sir Julius Chan and Bart Philemon were to lead a coalition (and it does have to be a coalition) to power, will they be any different than the present lot, given the traditional way political power has to be won and kept?

What has changed with DFAT since John Fowke wrote his piece in 2006? Not much, if anything. Sure there has been a change in government, but there doesn't seem to have been a regime change at AusAID nor in its methodology.

The essence of the problem is that there are at least two different and independent impediments to changing the current impasse. While the causes of each impediment might be worlds apart, each conspires to keep the other in place.

The 'Doyens of DFAT' (and this includes hangers on) and the ‘traditional PNG bigman culture' may be dissimilar in background yet they are distinctly similar in their desire to prevent change. They are both doing very nicely, thank you.

Why change if we don't have to? That's the nub of the problem. So what's the answer? There's only one real response: agreed responsibility and accountability. The weak points of both camps (DFAT and the PNG elite) are their political power bases.

To hold the collective conglomeration of our foreign aid programs accountable would be to attack the Gordian Knot. To get the Australian government to elucidate a workable and accountable aid program for PNG and the Pacific Rim is something to be worked towards.

The second, equally important initiative must come from the PNG people through their elected leaders. Here there may be a glimmer of hope as Sir Mekere and Bart Philemon actually started to effect worthwhile changes before they were white anted and ended up in Opposition.

If a responsible and accountable PNG government were to require the Australian government to effect overdue change to our ‘neighbourly’ foreign aid architecture, it would be a good forward step.

Similarly, if the PNGAA were to suggest a round table where interested organisations could be evaluated on their effectiveness in achieving results, maybe there might be some way ahead for a more positive outcome. What would not be productive would be to commission yet another 'talk fest'.

An agreed agenda with stated outcomes and benchmarks should be set in place prior to any conference taking place. Invitations could then be issued to all those who have something constructive to offer.

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