We’re in a field of cotton that should be ready to harvest. But there’s nothing to reap...Radha picks up a handful of soil. The surface has a faintly visible white crust...it has the same caustic smell as the water, a bit like paint stripper...Overlooking the fields...is the factory the villagers claim has polluted their water and land. The plant, owned by Gujarat Fluorochemicals (GFL), produces refrigerant gases for air-conditioning units and fridges..Four years ago, GFL installed technology to reduce the greenhouse gases it produces and was given a vast financial reward by the UN; a UK company was also given considerable sums for investing in the project...Deepak Asher, one of GFL’s directors...dismisses the villagers’ allegations...GFL’s British partner, Ineos...says...under the terms of the carbon-credit relationship, it is only responsible for the technology it supplied and not for the rest of GFL...In theory the carbon-credit trading scheme is a thoroughly modern and intelligent approach to reducing world pollution...In practice, however, there are loopholes that seriously threaten the schemes’ credibility.