This Barcelona NGO Is the Worst Enemy of Greenwashing

PlanetAI Nature Space (PNS), based in Barcelona, is presented as a technological and ethical counterweight to corporate greenwashing.

Founded by María Fernanda González, Iván Vilar, and Santiago Vargas, the group combines advanced satellite imaging, AI, and scientific certification to monitor forests and generate verified carbon credits.

Key points:

• Amazon project: PNS manages 3.5 million hectares in the Colombian Amazon, generating more than 130 million tons of carbon credits in three years. Each credit represents one ton of CO₂ avoided or absorbed.

• Indigenous role: The NGO emphasizes that Indigenous peoples safeguard 80% of the world’s forests. PNS integrates their ancestral knowledge with AI, teaching communities to monitor and manage territories while respecting governance and culture.

• Business model: Carbon credits are monetized internationally — from $5–6 per credit in Colombia to $50–100 in Europe/US for complex cases such as methane. PNS charges a small percentage per credit issued.

• Methodologies: PNS has developed four certification methodologies: forest carbon, blue carbon (mangroves), sustainable palm oil cultivation, and methane capture from abandoned oil wells (seen as a major future solution).

• Traceability & AI: The company built its own certification method backed by scientists, using satellite imagery and AI algorithms to ensure transparency and detect fraud in voluntary carbon markets.

• Beyond carbon: González stresses that projects must address broader challenges — youth losing Indigenous languages and traditions, waste management, and cultural survival — arguing that “if you destroy Indigenous peoples, you destroy the Earth.

PNS shows that technology, science, and Indigenous governance can combine to deliver genuine climate solutions with transparency and cultural integrity, making it a true “enemy” of greenwashing narratives.