In the Name of the Climate: Extractive Capitalism and the Forest Carbon Offsets Market in the Amazon

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this article is to analyze Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) policies and projects in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon; the main players involved; and implications for the climate, the communities involved and our understanding of the issue. In addition to an analysis of documents from the Brazilian government, business organizations and REDD certification standards, the text is based on fieldwork carried out with communities affected by REDD and advisory organizations in the states of Acre and Pará. The work is based on the categories of socio-ecological modernization, financialization of nature and environmentalization. The research mapped out 111 REDD+ projects in Brazil and analyzed complaints on 16 of them. The results indicate that policies based on forest carbon offsets and the carbon market do not contribute to reducing deforestation, generate territorial conflicts and intensifies extractive capitalism in the Amazon.

Keywords

• REDD+
• forest carbon offsets
• Amazon
• carbon market
• climate