--- title: "Company Providing Carbon Offsets Accidentally Sets Large Forest Fire" description: "Land Life, a company that offers carbon offsets to polluting industries through planting trees, has accidentally started a massive forest fire in Spain." date: "2022-07-21" modified: "2022-07-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/company-carbon-offsets-sets-forest-fire" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "europe" - "the digest" - "wildfires" --- # Company Providing Carbon Offsets Accidentally Sets Large Forest Fire ![Land Life, a company that offers carbon offsets to polluting industries through planting trees, has accidentally started a massive forest fire in Spain.]() *\Image: MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Paging Billy Joel Land Life, a Dutch reforestation company that offers carbon offsets to polluting industries by planting trees, has accidentally started a massive forest fire in Spain — the second in just a month's time, [*Vice* reports]() — in a genuinely staggering unintended consequence. The ironic twist underlines just how dangerous the current situation in Europe is, with at least [20 wildfires burning out of control]() across the continent right now due to record heat and [countless deaths](), not to mention [widespread risks]() to [infrastructure](). In other words, we're almost certainly seeing climate change rear its ugly head — which makes the fact that a reforestation company is causing wildfires all the more depressing. ## Powder Keg The details are grim. "The fire started while one of our contractors was using a retro-spider excavator to prepare the soil to plant trees later this winter," [a statement]() by Land Life reads. "The operators alerted the emergency services. The emergency teams are working non-stop to control the fire and have fortunately established the fire perimeter." It's not the first time Land Life workers sparked a wildfire. Just last month, another Land Life worker kicked off a 49 acre wildfire, *Vice* reported. This latest fire turned into a substantial inferno, affecting around 35,000 acres of land, according to the company. Around 2,000 people had to be evacuated, a "serious and concerning" incident, as Javier Lambán, the president of the local government of Aragon [told local media](). ## Heat Apocalypse The timing isn't exactly great. Southern European is currently battling a "[heat apocalypse]()," a highly dangerous heat wave that has already claimed the lives of over a thousand people in just Spain and Portugal alone. The historic levels of heat have also led to ["monster" wildfires](), with authorities warning of "very extreme" fire danger throughout the continent. In short, it's unfortunate to have a reforestation company be the cause of a massive wildfire. In the face of everything else, it's the very last thing Europe needs right now. **READ MORE:** [Corporate Carbon Offset Company Accidentally Starts Devastating Wildfire]() \[*Vice*\] **More on wildfires:** *[Over a Thousand Die in European "Heat Apocalypse"]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()