Dubai — based start-up Blue Carbon, with plans to revolutionize the carbon offsetting market, has enlisted the expertise of a controversial figure - Samuele Landi, a 58-year-old Italian living in exile. Interestingly, he is a Liberian diplomat.
Living on a floating island off the Gulf, Landi is advising the UAE firm, chaired by a member of Dubai's royal family, on its ambitious goal to acquire forested areas the size of the United Kingdom and sell carbon credits under a UN-established mechanism. However, Landi's role in Blue Carbon raises questions about the company's integrity due to his past legal troubles.
Landi, the founder and former CEO of Eutelia, once a major Italian telecommunications company, fled Italy after being convicted in two trials for bankruptcy fraud, which led to the collapse of Eutelia, leaving over 2,200 people unemployed nearly 15 years ago.
Despite the legal issues, Blue Carbon has defended Landi's advisory role, emphasizing his extensive technology experience. Landi owns a cybersecurity firm in Dubai and, as a Liberian diplomat, claims to have played a role in fostering diplomatic relations between Liberia and the UAE.
It is not clear how and when he became a Liberia's Consul General to the UAE.
Liberia is one of the African countries that have signed a raft of memorandums of understanding with Blue Carbon in the run-up to Cop28, alongside the governments of Kenya, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania. Landi said he was not directly involved in the negotiations between Blue Carbon and Liberia.
In March this year, Liberia and the UAE signed a US$50 million deal with Blue Carbon. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement carbon removal projects in the forestry sector in Liberia was signed under Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement which represents an important step towards promoting sustainable forest management practices and fighting climate change across Liberia.
The Executive Mansion stated that MOU also aimed at establishing a cooperation framework for the development of nature-based solution Projects in Liberia with Blue Carbon developing strategies to regulate carbon markets through transparency and audits for high-intensity carbon emissions throughout the country.
National and international campaigners have criticized the deal for--among other things--disregarding the rights of rural communities. The Land Rights Act and Community Rights Law... with Respect to Forest Lands guarantee locals' free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for land and forest-based concessions.
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Critics, such as Alexandra Benjamin from Fern, describe Blue Carbon's plans as "a new scramble for Africa," expressing worries about the impact on the lives and livelihoods of rural African communities. Concerns include forced evictions, lack of transparency, and doubts about the financial benefits reaching local communities.
Blue Carbon claims its deals will bring "vital environmental impacts" and "a transformative wave of economic opportunities" for the African countries involved. However, there are fears that the sheer volume of carbon credits generated could lead to greenwashing of oil and gas operations without substantial emission reductions.
The company plans to reveal more details about its carbon credit plans at the upcoming COP28 in Dubai, presenting its deals as a "blueprint" for carbon trading. Meanwhile, Landi, living on a barge in international waters, has distanced himself from the summit, emphasizing his focus on creating a decentralized autonomous organization to promote what he calls a "libertarian state."
