Under the U.N. system, all kinds of dodgy industrial projects can generate lucrative credits. For instance, oil companies operating in the Niger Delta that practice “flaring”—setting fire to the natural gas released in the oil drilling process because capturing and using the potent greenhouse gas is more expensive than burning it—have argued that they should be paid if they stop engaging in this enormously destructive practice. And indeed some are already registered to receive carbon credits under the U.N. system for no longer flaring—despite the fact that gas flaring has been illegal in
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