Are you a journalist interested in writing about carbon credits, offsets or markets? Do you want to learn more about their efficacy, transparency, environmental and social costs/benefits?

On April 28th at 4 pm EDT, Mongabay will be hosting a webinar on all of the above. The panel discussion will feature two leading experts on carbon markets, Frances Seymour and Joe Eisen, and journalist Rachel Donald. Our esteemed panelists will share the latest trends, possible story ideas and answer questions about reporting on carbon markets during this latest installment of our free webinar series.

If you are a journalist who wants to learn more about how to cover carbon markets/offsets for Mongabay or other news outlets, join us and our guests for an informative session.

What are carbon markets and carbon offsets?

As more and more companies and governments declare carbon negative or carbon neutral commitments, many of them are turning to carbon offset projects through the purchasing of carbon credits to fulfill these commitments and obligations. Carbon markets are the arena in which the transactions take place. However, with carbon offset markets’ increasing popularity has come rising controversy and concerns surrounding the legitimacy and effectiveness of carbon offsets as an approach to help address climate change.

Building off an earlier training focused on reforestation and forest restoration, this webinar for journalists is intended to help improve understanding of the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of carbon offset markets in achieving climate goals. We’ll discuss the influence of carbon markets on forest land use management, the key players involved in their financing/regulation, and the actions of groups supplying carbon credits for purchase in national and regional carbon marketplaces.

A recent episode of Mongabay Explains provides a brief overview of how carbon markets work.

Webinar registration and details

Date and time

April 28, 2022. 4pm EDT/3pm CT/1pm PDT

Registration

Register for the Zoom webinar here.

This discussion will be moderated by Mongabay staff and the recording will be available for viewing later at this page.

We hope you can join us! Please register here and tell a friend about it.

The experts

Frances Seymour

Frances Seymour is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the World Resources Institute (WRI) where she conducts research and writing on forest and climate issues, including the role of forest carbon credits in carbon markets. In her individual capacity, she also serves as an adviser to the Climate and Land Use Alliance, chairs the board of the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions, and chairs the Oslo Tropical Forest Forum. Frances joined WRI from the Center for Global Development, where she published her 2016 book, Why Forests? Why Now? The Science, Economics, and Politics of Tropical Forests and Climate Change. From 2006 to 2012, Frances served as Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), an international organization headquartered in Indonesia. Previously, she was the founding director of the Institutions and Governance Program at WRI and served as Director of Development Assistance Policy at World Wildlife Fund. She holds an MPA in Development Studies from Princeton University, and a BS in Zoology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Rachel Donald

Rachel Donald is an independent investigative journalist exposing climate corruption around the world. She is also producer of Radio Free Sarawak and creator of Planet: Critical, the podcast for a world in crisis, interviewing world experts from the frontline of the climate crisis.

Joe Eisen

Joe Eisen is Executive Director of Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK) where he has worked for well over a decade in defense of community rights in tropical forests. Prior to joining RFUK Joe studied Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics and worked on social justice campaigns and projects with several grassroots indigenous, environmental, and developmental NGOs in Guyana and Gabon and India. Before taking the helm at RFUK, Joe headed up the research and policy team, leading its work on REDD+ and sustainable conservation.

About Mongabay

Mongabay is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform focused on providing cutting-edge independent journalism from nature’s frontline. We pride ourselves in producing reporting that has substantial, tangible impacts around the world.