DOUBLE JEOPARDY

The report argues that 'net zero' targets are a 'smokescreen' allowing corporations to maintain fossil-fuel-based business models through carbon offsetting and 'nature-based solutions'. It contends that these mechanisms lead to land grabbing, the dispossession of Indigenous and peasant communities, and the co-option of agroecology. The document specifically highlights the risks of soil carbon farming as a means for agribusiness and IT companies to harvest farm data and exert control over land use. It concludes that real climate justice requires a transition to food sovereignty and a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels rather than reliance on unverifiable carbon credits.

• Corporate 'net zero' pledges are described as a 'smokescreen' that allows companies to continue polluting by balancing emissions with carbon offsets or removals rather than achieving 'real zero' emissions.
• Carbon offsetting is criticized as fundamentally flawed because it relies on 'counter-factuals' and unverifiable claims about avoided emissions, often leading to 'fake carbon credits'.
• 'Nature-based solutions' are presented as a rebranding of the discredited REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) concept, which has historically caused conflicts and restricted traditional land use by forest peoples.
• The report argues that the scale of land required for 'nature-based solutions' to meet corporate net zero targets would trigger massive land grabs; for example, Nestlé's ambitions could require planting trees on at least 4.4 million hectares annually.
• Agroecology is being co-opted by the 'nature-based solutions' framework, which the report claims reduces a holistic social and ecological movement to a narrow focus on carbon sequestration as a financial asset.
• Soil carbon farming is characterized as a 'data harvest' where agribusinesses and IT companies use digital platforms to collect farm data and dictate land use through contracts.
• The report asserts that natural carbon removals cannot compensate for fossil fuel emissions due to incompatible time scales: fossil carbon interferes with the climate for millennia, while biological storage is volatile and temporary.
• Specific examples of REDD and carbon project conflicts are cited in Uganda (evictions by Green Resources), Indonesia (prohibition of traditional burning in Katingan), Colombia (greenwashing mining by Prodeco), and Brazil (failure of the Acre programme).

APA

Kill, J., Chandrasekaran, K., Drago, M., & Race, M. (2022). DOUBLE JEOPARDY. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/foei-double-jeopardy-full-report-EN.pdf

Chicago

Kill, Jutta, Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Martin Drago, and Madeleine Race. DOUBLE JEOPARDY. Friends of the Earth International, 2022. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/foei-double-jeopardy-full-report-EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kill |first1=Jutta |last2=Chandrasekaran |first2=Kirtana |last3=Drago |first3=Martin |last4=Race |first4=Madeleine |title=DOUBLE JEOPARDY |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=November 2022 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/foei-double-jeopardy-full-report-EN.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kill2022double, author = {Kill, Jutta and Chandrasekaran, Kirtana and Drago, Martin and Race, Madeleine}, title = {{DOUBLE JEOPARDY}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/foei-double-jeopardy-full-report-EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }