Seattle-based Mast Reforestation had a novel idea to help save the planet: sell voluntary carbon credits and use that money to replant forests destroyed by wildfire.
To pull off its reforestation projects, the company bought key parts of the supply chain, including Cal Forest Nurseries in Etna, California — the largest independent nursery in the Pacific Northwest. It also purchased Silvaseed in Washington state, the largest privately held seed bank in the West.
In 2023, it replanted 2,500 acres of land in Montana. A year later, it launched the Feather River Dome project near Chico, California.
Mast positioned itself as a rising star in the carbon credit market, claiming to be the only “vertically-integrated reforestation carbon credit developer in the industry.” It got backing from Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Social Capital.
Now, the company is facing allegations that it deceived potential partners to secure its reforestation projects.
The way Mast structures its credits is central to the controversy.
Like other companies, Mast sells carbon credits to businesses that want to voluntarily offset emissions. Those financial instruments are often used to fund the protection of areas — like forests or marine habitats — that remove greenhouse gases.
But Mast’s model hinges on a specific type of carbon offset known as an “ex ante” credit — essentially, a bet on future climate benefits. Instead of waiting for trees to grow and capture carbon, Mast sells...
The House Prosecution panel on Friday countered Vice President Sara Duterte’s statements in her answer ad cautelam (for caution), saying that she made “several misleading and false material statem...