By Anthony Boadle
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The government of the Brazilian state of Para in the Amazon will consult Indigenous communities on how they will benefit from the future sale of carbon offset credits that U.S. companies have agreed to buy to try to protect the rainforest.
In a statement received by Reuters on Monday, the Para government's environmental secretariat Semas said it "will begin a new phase of dialogue" with Indigenous peoples and other traditional communities in the rainforest.
Scientists say preserving the Amazon rainforest is vital to combating global warming.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and a group of companies agreed last month in New York to buy carbon credits in a deal valued at $180 million through the LEAF Coalition conservation initiative, which it helped set up in 2021 with other firms and governments, including the United States and United Kingdom.
At the time, Para Governor Helder Barbalho said the deal had the participation of Indigenous peoples and other traditional communities. But last week, 38 Indigenous and community organizations signed a public letter saying they had not been consulted properly.
"The transaction with the LEAF Coalition will be finalized in 2025, after the conclusion of this collective construction process," the Para government statement said.
A series of high-profile controversies has shaken confidence in the market for carbon offsets, with several large companies that buy carbon credits retreating from it after studies found that large forest protection projects failed to deliver their promised emission reductions.
Emergent, the non-profit coordinator of the LEAF Coalition, said consultations had yet to begin in Para on the LEAF agreement, which involves a forward purchase and no credits will be transacted until after the consultation process.
"We have full confidence that Para is developing a REDD+ system with the active participation of a wide variety of communities and beneficiaries that play an active role in reducing deforestation," a spokesperson for Emergent said.
REDD+ is a climate change mitigation strategy that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by slowing, stopping, and reversing deforestation.
The communities include Indigenous peoples, descendants of escaped slaves known as quilombolas and family farmers.
Emergent said it understood the government-led consultations would include over 30 workshops across the state.
One Indigenous organization that is actively involved in promoting the consultations is the Federation of Indigenous Peoples of Para (FEPIPA), which is urging Indigenous communities to participate.
FEPIPA leader Concita Sompré said the sale of carbon credits was the right solution for Indigenous communities, though they "do not feel fully informed," she said in a statement, and consultations must explain how the benefits will be shared.
"In the benefit-sharing agreement, we indigenous people will, together with the other beneficiaries who live in the state, agree on how much each part will receive," she said.