Shortsighted and unjust carbon projects: A Zimbabwe case study
A new Swedwatch investigation finds that a carbon credit project in Zimbabwe worth several million USD failed to consult communities or share revenues. The case underscores wider concerns about the voluntary carbon market, long promoted as a source of urgently needed climate finance for low- and middle-income countries despite criticism over weak transparency and the undermining of community rights.
A new Swedwatch report investigates U.S.-based company C-Quest’s two cookstove projects in Zimbabwe, registered in 2022 and 2023, under the leading voluntary carbon market programme Verra. The report estimates that by October 2025, credits worth roughly US$6.5–13.7 million had been issued across the two projects, but according to community testimonies, almost no money reached families, many living in poverty and climate-vulnerable conditions.
Drawing on first-hand testimony from community members in Chimanimani region, where an estimated 20,000 households received C-Quest stoves, and interviews with authorities, the report concludes that C-Quest failed to share information, obtain informed consent and meaningfully engage community, and negotiate any form of benefit-sharing agreement with local stakeholders.
While community members pointed to positive benefits such as reduced smoke exposure and time saved collecting firewood, they were frustrated to learn about the company profiting without their knowledge, explaining that part of the money should have instead supported local development and climate-resilience efforts. At the very least money could have been used to repair broken stoves and improve design, provide suitable cooking pots and address the long delays faced by more than 1,000 households who had been promised stoves, but were still waiting.
“The findings raise serious concerns about whether carbon projects can credibly be treated as climate finance when revenues do not reach the communities whose resources and participation enable the projects”, says Lubna Hawwa, author of the report and program officer at Swedwatch.
Green Governance Africa (GGA) which conducted field research for the report, warns that the pattern observed in C-Quest projects is far from unique.
“Short-term, extractive carbon projects undermine trust and damage the credibility of climate finance. When developers prioritize quick credit generation over long-term community engagement and benefit-sharing, they leave behind broken infrastructure, unresolved grievances, and communities worse off than before”, says Nyasha Frank Mpahlo, Executive Director at GGA.
A growing global problem
As highlighted in the report, the cookstove case in Zimbabwe mirrors wider concerns across the voluntary carbon market, which continues to expand despite mounting criticism over greenwashing, inflated emissions claims, and lack of community protections.
Across the sector, corporate project developers and intermediaries who are mostly based in high-income countries capture the majority of financial value, while communities in low-income countries bear the social and environmental risks and unfulfilled promises. Carbon Market Watch reports that as many as 62 percent of companies behind Africa’s voluntary carbon projects are based in very high-HDI countries, with little revenue flowing back locally.
“Without mandatory requirements for benefit-sharing, free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and project-level financial transparency, carbon markets will continue to enable green washing and climate injustice under the guise of climate action and financing”, says Lubna Hawwa.
This is particularly relevant as international carbon trading is expected to grow under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (which allows countries to use carbon credits to meet national climate targets), with significant demand coming from higher income countries including in the European Union.
Swedwatch’s key recommendations
1️⃣Corporate project developers in the carbon market should ensure meaningful engagement with local communities, full transparency on project level financial details, and the establishment of a benefit-sharing agreement in consultation with the communities to guarantee the fair and equitable share of revenues and monetary benefits.
2️⃣Companies in high-income countries purchasing carbon credits from projects in low- and middle-income countries must verify revenue-sharing with local communities as part of their due-diligence processes. They should also prioritize cutting emissions at source rather than relying on offsets.
3️⃣Governments and carbon standard-setters should urgently establish regulations to ensure local communities receive an equitable share of revenues, and require project developers to engage meaningfully with communities and adopt benefit-sharing agreements as key human-rights safeguards.
4️⃣Governments in high-income countries should support capacity-building for communities affected by carbon projects and increase grant-based climate finance for vulnerable nations, in line with commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Full recommendations in the briefing.
Download the briefing
This report was produced by Swedwatch in collaboration with Green Governance Africa (GGA), who conducted the field research between October 2024 and March 2025. Five focus group discussions were held with rights holders in Chimanimani, along with ten key informant interviews involving representatives from local government, national authorities, the local implementing partner, and trained stove installers.
Without mandatory requirements for benefit-sharing, free, prior, and informed consent, and project-level financial transparency, carbon markets will continue to enable green washing and climate injustice under the guise of climate action and financing.
An illustration taken from Clean Cooking Alliance’s 2024 report showing that a large portion of carbon revenue earned by clean and improved cooking activities tends to stay with actors further up the value chain.
Support our Work
Help us keep investigating
Swedwatch is an independent, non-profit research organization. With your support we can expose harmful practices and strengthen corporate accountability.
Donate using the donation form, or Swish 123 590 17 07
Contact us
For more information on how we work and how you can support us:
info@swedwatch.org or visit our about us page.
