In this talk, I consider the role of carbon offsetting in Costa
Rica’s effort to become a “carbon neutral” nation by 2021. Carbon offsets are a
market-based policy in which landowners are compensated for the carbon
sequestration benefits their forested land provides. This policy has been
promoted as achieving triple “win” objectives of climate mitigation, rural
development, and halting deforestation.
I consider these claims by discussing
the practices and techniques that are employed to render a forested landscape
into a carbon commodity that can be bought and sold. I show the limits of what
such practices can accomplish and the consequences of this policy for
marginalized land users. I argue that carbon offsetting, as it is currently
constituted in Costa Rica and elsewhere, is unlikely to achieve its stated
aims. Nevertheless, the Costa Rican case shows us that the policy architecture
put in place to facilitate offsetting holds the potential for a reimagining of environmental
policy that is both socially just and ecologically sound.