On April 29, 2025 a rocket launched the first orbiting P-band radar, built to weigh tropical forest trunks with an instrument no seller controls, though it cannot operate over North America or Europe. The episode walks the integrity machinery built since 2021, from satellites and the Integrity Council's label to claims standards and insurers, and asks which part would have caught the earlier frauds. Every part still ends at a plot on the ground.
Who's who
- Shaun QueganUniversity of Sheffield lead scientist for ESA's Biomass mission
- Ralph DubayahUniversity of Maryland principal investigator of NASA's GEDI lidar
- Mark CarneyConvened the taskforce on scaling voluntary carbon markets
- Annette NazarethChair of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market
- Lambert Schneider+2 more episodesExpert panel member who resigned in December 2024
- Jürg FüsslerExpert panel member who resigned in December 2024
- Edward Mitchard+1 more episodeEdinburgh forest mapper and founder of Space Intelligence
- Sassan SaatchiJPL scientist behind the CTrees biomass maps
Where it happens
- Kourou, French GuianaLaunch site of ESA's Biomass satellite
- International Space StationHosts NASA's GEDI lidar, stored for thirteen months
- Tropical forestsPrimary target of the Biomass P-band radar
Timeline
- December 5, 2018GEDI launches to the International Space Station.
- March 29, 2023The Integrity Council publishes its Core Carbon Principles.
- August 6, 2024Eight legacy renewables methodologies are rejected, covering about 236 million credits.
- April 29, 2025ESA's Biomass satellite launches from Kourou.
- June 11, 2026The Science Based Targets initiative finalizes its Net-Zero Standard v2.0.
- August 4, 2026The Integrity Council reports 41 methodologies approved, 25 rejected, and about 115 million labeled credits.
Still debated
Independent biomass maps can differ by roughly a factor of two at project scale, though that figure is practitioner experience. The Integrity Council's approval of REDD+ methodologies was contested by its own resigning experts, and Guyana's high-forest, low-deforestation credits were sent back in 2026.