STiR coffee and tea magazine

42 STiR coffee and tea | 2024 Issue 5 (October / November) nomic incentives. Similarly, Colombia's Solidaridad project trains coffee farmers in sustainable practices, teaching them how to reforest degraded lands and manage them responsibly, thereby generating carbon credits. These projects illustrate the promise of carbon credits but also their fragility. Pric- ing fluctuates wildly—carbon credits peaked at over $16 per ton in late 2022 before dropping below $12.50 in early 2024. This volatility stems from concerns over the integrity of many projects. Buyers, increasingly aware of "greenwashing," are becoming more selective, demanding higher-quality credits. Double counting and murky project verification processes have further eroded trust. Yet despite these setbacks, demand for quality carbon credits remains high, par- ticularly among corporations looking to meet climate commitments. This, in turn, has sparked an ongoing debate: Can carbon credits really be the answer? Or are they just another way for the wealthy to buy their way out of responsibility? Benefits and Challenges of Carbon Credits for the Tea and Coffee Industries The carbon credit market faces significant challenges, particularly regarding the integ- rity and additionality of offset projects. Ensuring that carbon credits genuinely repre- sent emissions reductions is critical; however, many projects have been found lacking in these areas. The fundamental issue lies in the concept of "additionality"—the idea that the carbon reductions wouldn't have happened without the revenue of the sale of the project's carbon credits. Yet a report from the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets sheds a disquieting light: many projects, particularly in forestry, have been overstating their impact. A staggering 90% of credits from some certified projects don't represent real emissions reductions. It turns out that measuring avoided emis- sions from something as complex as a forest is no easy task. Baselines get skewed, and inflated claims creep in. Farmers—especially in developing nations—face yet another steep hill. Carbon markets, while offering income potential, often require upfront investments, techni- cal knowledge, and participation in complex certification schemes. Researchers from Colombia's CENICAFE have pointed out that transaction costs alone can eat up 40% of a farmer's carbon credit sell price. This cost-benefit imbalance deters many farm- ers who could otherwise benefit from carbon credit schemes. Another obstacle is scale. Projects must reach a critical size—often over 50,000 carbon credits (or tons of CO2)— to attract major developers. For tea and coffee farmers with small plots of land, hitting these targets is a pipe dream. Take projects like Jalinga in India; they aim to foster sustainable practices and generate carbon credits in multiple ways. Ketan explains that the company has a solar energy project, uses biofuel made up of biomass, and produces and uses bio- char to capture carbon in the soil. This year, Jalinga is also committed to plant- ing 300,000 trees while generating more permanent work positions in the pro- cess. It's not enough that they protect 250 hectares of primary forest in their 1000-hectare estate. They also work with out-growers who have been "handheld…into or- ganic—teach them everything they do themselves—and give them a much bet- ter price, up to 50% more than what they would get selling to a different tea estate," says Ketan. Then, there's the existential threat looming over tea and coffee: climate change. These crops are the canaries in the coal mine. Highly sensitive to tem- perature shifts and erratic rainfall, tea and coffee farmers stand to lose much of their productive land. As climate im- Ketan Patel (center), fourth-generation tea grower and owner of Jalinga Organic Tea, trains out-growers in organic and regenerative practices and helps them benefit from Carbon Credit projects. Photo courtesy Jalinga Organic Tea Estate The ICO estimates that coffee growing areas will be reduced by as much as 50% by 2050. Photo by Emily McIntyre

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