In today's episode, we are joined by Patrick Greenfield, a biodiversity reporter for The Guardian. Over the past two years, Patrick has extensively covered carbon markets and their effectiveness. He has been at the forefront of media scrutiny surrounding the Voluntary Carbon Market. In this episode, Rene talks with Patrick about this media scrutiny, the effectiveness of the scheme, and whether carbon credits are worthless or worthwhile. Enjoy this very engaging discussion! Topics: 00:00 - Introduction 1:25 - Patrick’s job as a reporter and involvement in the VCM 5:50 - Negative story writing and the use of “Worthlessness” 21:20 - The ‘binary’ outcome of the VCM’s functionality 28:50 - Community impacts from carbon projects 35:07 - Scaling the VCM in the future 44:10 - The use of the term ‘worthlessness’ 49:10 - Additionality in forestry projects 55:02 - Enhancing the integrity of credits 59:05 - Solutions for the future 1:03:58 - Ratings and third-party reviews 1:13:02 - Julia’s opinion piece on the West et al. study 1:16:08 - Partnering between the VCM and the media