A key to carbon justice? Integrating land rights into national carbon frameworks

This blog post critically examines forest carbon projects in Africa and beyond, questioning whether they are truly environmentally beneficial ("green") or if they come with negative social impacts ("mean"). It highlights that many carbon projects fail to reduce emissions effectively or promote problematic practices like monoculture plantations. A central concern is that countries are advancing carbon market regulations without adequately addressing the complexities of land tenure and resource rights, which is crucial because national laws govern carbon projects and companies often defer to these laws. It emphasises the important but underexplored link between land rights, especially for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and carbon justice within national carbon frameworks. It notes that many forest lands are state-owned on paper, while actual custodianship belongs to local communities who often lack formal land titles and access to legal protections. This situation raises issues of fairness and effectiveness in carbon market schemes.

Abstract based on original source.