A new investigation by RFUK reveals how vast areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are being carved up for carbon offset projects, raising alarm over the legality, transparency and human rights impacts of a rapidly expanding carbon market.

The report, 'The Great Green Rush: The Exponential Rise and Social Impacts of Forest Carbon Offset Projects in the DRC' has identified 71 carbon projects, covering approximately 103 million hectares, or nearly half of the country's total surface area.

The report warns that this ‘carbon gold rush’ is unfolding largely outside legal frameworks, with private companies and foreign investors claiming rights to manage carbon stocks on Congolese land, often without community consultation or consent, or government oversight.

A new scramble for the Congo’s forests

Our research found that many carbon offset deals mirror the extractive patterns of logging and mining that have long plagued the DRC. This includes dozens of conservation concessions, many of which were illegal converted or are being run by logging companies.

In addition, a series of non-area-based carbon deals, covering more than 80 million hectares, have been signed between state institutions and private firms. These contracts often lack clear boundaries or oversight, effectively granting companies sweeping control over the country’s forests on paper.

Carbon markets are being sold as a climate solution, but this report warns that in the DRC they may be becoming a new frontier for exploitation.

“Carbon markets in the DRC are expanding at an alarming pace without the safeguards needed to protect people and forests,” said Joe Eisen, RFUK’s Executive Director. “Indigenous peoples and local communities, the true custodians of the Congo Basin, are yet again being pushed aside while powerful interests cash in.”

Communities sidelined, promises unfulfilled

Despite claims that carbon projects bring local jobs, schools and other benefits, the report documents widespread exclusion of Indigenous Peoples and local communities from decision-making. In several cases, communities report losing access to ancestral lands or being fined and/or threatened for entering newly designated project zones.

“Because of all these carbon market players, our villages have become like airports, with lots of people arriving, taking our resources and leaving without leaving us anything.”

- Inhabitant of Ekele community, Equateur province, DRC

Phantom credits and false climate solutions

The findings also question the climate integrity of carbon offsets themselves. A recent study found that fewer than 16% of voluntary carbon credits deliver genuine emission reductions, while most forest carbon projects fail to prove additionality; this means they may not prevent deforestation that wouldn’t have happened anyway. By relying on these ‘phantom credits,’ risks corporations using carbon markets to delay real decarbonisation and greenwash continued fossil fuel use.

A call for reform

The ‘Great Green Rush’ calls for a moratorium on new carbon projects in the DRC until transparent governance systems and legal safeguards are in place to protect communities and forests. The report also highlights rights-based alternatives — such as community forestry and direct, non-market payments for environmental services — as fairer, more effective ways to protect forests and reduce emissions.

“Climate solutions must not come at the expense of those who have protected these forests for generations,” said Vittoria Moretti, RFUK’s DRC-based Forest Campaigner and lead author of the report. “Without community leadership and proper safeguards, carbon markets risk doing more harm than good.”

The full report The Great Green Rush is available in English here and in French here.

An accompanying documentary film can be viewed here.