Not seeing the forest for the carbon in the trees

Benjamin Stephan

NOT SEEING THE FOREST FORTHE CARBON IN THE TREES ?

The role of fighting tropical deforestationin global climate governance

(ITC/U Twente)

(ITC/U Twente)

(IO 9)(IISD)

(Conservation International)

Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation and „the conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks“ (UNFCCC 2010, 1/CP16)

WHAT IS REDD+ ?

(Conservation International)

WHAT IS REDD+ ?

monetisation

Estimating the OpportunityCosts of REDD+A training manual

opportunity cost payments

WHAT IS REDD+ ?

carbon markets

(flickr: Baron Visuals)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

How can the massive attention and broad support for REDD+ be explained in light of the marginalised and

controversial role deforestation had during earlier phases of international climate negotiations ?

How is deforestation, and together with it the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, being made

governable through REDD+ ?

How is avoided deforestation transformed into carbon credits ?

THESIS

The Third Side of the Coin: Hegemony and governmentality in global climate politics1.

From Pariah to Messiah: Avoiding deforestation in international climate governance

2.

Bringing Discourse to the Market4.

3. Governing the Forest Frontier

How to trade „not cutting down trees“5.

DISCOURSE THEORYFo

ucau

lt

governmentality

Lacl

au

Mou

ffe

Hegemony & Discourse Theory

DISCOURSE THEORY ?

DISCOURSE THEORY ?

wrath of god

result of climate change

bad land planning

DISCOURSE THEORYFo

ucau

lt

governmentality

Lacl

au

Mou

ffe

Hegemony & Discourse Theory

hegemony

the political

power

government

rationality

THE BROAD SUPPORT FOR REDD+

REDD+ = hegemonic projectchain of equivalence

REDD+ = floating signifier

REDD+ = HEGEMONIC PROJECT

(UN-REDD 2011)

BEYOND CARBONEcosystem-based benefits of REDD+

(UN-REDD 2011)

(UN-REDD 2011)

REDD+ = HEGEMONIC PROJECT

(UN-REDD 2011)

BEYOND CARBONEcosystem-based benefits of REDD+

(UN-REDD 2011)

(UN-REDD 2011)

‘Immediate action on REDD+ can catalyze accelerated national development in addition to curbing carbon emissions. Healthy forests sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services, ensuring clean water, productive soils, and protection against floods and droughts — helping countries adapt to climate change, food security and generally improving the wellbeing of people.‘ (UN-REDD 2010)

HEGEMONY:CHAINS OF EQUIVALENCE


different demands


different demands


different demands


different demands

constitutive outside


different demands

antagonism



antagonism


empty signifier

climatechange

deforestation= =biodiversityloss = poverty... ...

REDD+

antagonism

reducing emissions from deforestation = =biodiversity

protection = poverty alleviation

sustainable development... ...

humanwell-being=

REDD+‘S CHAIN OF EQUIVALENCE

Figure 4: (Co-)Benefits provided through REDD+11

Let us take a look back in time and compare the REDD+ discourse with the CDM discourse

with regard to the co-benefits narrative. We can quickly conclude that the notion of co-bene-fits is nothing new:

‘Brazil's Amazon forest has value not only because it offers protection from climate change as astorehouse and sink of carbon. It is also a rich repository of biodiversity and a means of sustain-able livelihoods for forest dwellers‘

(Dudek and LeBlanc, 1991)

‘… forest projects, if implemented appropriately, "may have social, economic and environment-al benefits beyond reductions in atmospheric CO2 (carbon dioxide)" These "ancillary benefits"also known as co-benefits, include the provision of employment opportunities and the protec-tion of vital plant and animal habitats.‘

(TNC, 2001)

water regulation

sustainable development

human well-being

culture & tradition

indigenous peoples‘rightslivelihoods

protection of habitat

food (security)

education

fire wood

jobs national security

air qualitygenetic ressources

health

pollination

social cohesionsurvial

resilience to climate change

clarification of land tenure

provision of livelihoods

protection of biodiversity

poverty reduction

energy

medicine

11. The figure is based on the corpus of documents and interview transcripts analysed for this paper. The different font sizes are used as a proxy for the prevalence of the respective issue within the discourse. This has been determined based on the frequency and the context of the articulations (e.g. summary for policy makers of a major international report or a press release of an environmental NGO).

From Pariah to Messiah 95

‘CO-BENEFITS‘ OF REDD+

REDD+ = FLOATING SIGNIFIER

market based

‘funding gap‘

REDD+

fund-based

= =

‘flooded carbon markets‘

‘risky‘ ‘unreliable‘

GOVERNING THROUGH REDD+

(WRI 2008)

MORE THAN GOVERNING THROUGH MARKETS

‘The Tapuia, a fictional indigenous group based on a real tribe, lives on a legally protected reserve [in the Amazon]... the Tapuia have rights to REDD[+] credits for up to 100,000 tons of CO2 per year, depending both on how successful they are at keeping their reserve intact and on Brazil’s overall performance in curbing deforestation. After their project is certified by the Amazon Fund, the Space Research Agency monitors changes in land cover on Tapuia lands on behalf of the tribe... men from the Tapuia tribe patrolling the borders of their reserve find the tracks of a logger’s truck... Using their legal authority to control their reserve, the Tapuia radio the GPS coordinates of the logger’s trail to government agents who arrest the loggers, confiscate their equipment, and close the mill that had been pro- cessing the illegally harvested wood. The pick-up truck, fuel, GPS, and radio used by the Tapuia tribesmen are all paid for by the Tapuia REDD[+] project, which is certified under the Amazon Fund REDD[+] program, and paid for by investors...‘ (EDF 2009)


IWGIA/AIPP


IWGIA/AIPP

governing through markets


IWGIA/AIPP



IWGIA/AIPP


sovereign power

carbon panopticon

MAKING CARBON CREDITS

(IO 9)

(PBS)

MAKING CARBON CREDITS

baseline

(IO 9)

(greenbiz.com)(PBS)

FOREST‘S FIELD OF DISCURSIVITY

forest


forest

site for commercialwood exploitation


forest


biodiversityhotspot


forest


biodiversityhotspot massive gene pool


forestsacred place




forest

livelihood

sacred place




forest

livelihood

sacred place



water reservoir


forest

livelihood

sacred placecarbon sink



water reservoir


forest

livelihood

sacred placecarbon sink



water reservoir


forest

livelihood

sacred place carbon sink



water reservoir

Forest‘s Field of Discursivity

forest

Emissions Reductions


forest carbon sink

tons of CO2eq


forest carbon sink

tons of CO2eq


forest carbon sink

coal fired powerplant in the UK

tons of CO2eq


forest carbon sink


blast furnacein Germany

tons of CO2eq


forest carbon sink



wind farm in China

tons of CO2eq


forest carbon sink



cement plant in India

wind farm in China

tons of CO2eq

Carbonification of Forests

forest carbon sink



cement plant in India

wind farm in China

WANT TO KNOW MORE ?

Methmann, C., Rothe, D. and Stephan, B. (eds), 2013, Interpretive Approaches to Global Climate Governance: Deconstructing the Greenhouse. London: Routledge

[email protected]

THANK YOU

Not seeing the forest for the carbon in the trees

Education

redd redd

redd figure

opportunity costs of

redd s chain of equivalence

chains of equivalencedifferent

global climate politics2

biodiversity protection

curbing carbon emissions