Buying and selling forest carbon as a commodity is dangerous if it trumps other environmental and social uses

Journal article

Forests are great carbon sinks – they absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release. Globally, forests remove nearly all of the two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide that is currently being removed from the atmosphere every year. These days, companies can buy “carbon credits” for the carbon that is stored in living forests and offset this against their own greenhouse gas emissions. International financiers estimate that by 2050, Africa could be selling US$1.5 trillion in carbon credits per year, mainly from its forests. Environmental social scientists Constance L. McDermott, Eric Mensah Kumeh and Mark Hirons are co-authors of a report on global forest governance for the International Union of Forest Research Organisations. They have found that buying and selling forest carbon as a commodity is dangerous if it is prioritised over the other environmental and social uses of forests. It could even result in environmental damage and the displacement of forest-dependent people.

Authors: McDermott, C; Kumeh Mensah, E; Mark, H

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: The Conversation Trust (UK) Limited
• Journal: The Conversation
• Publication date: 2024-06-03
• Acceptance date: 2024-05-29
• Language: English
• Keywords: solutions; world environment day; afforestation; natural world; forests; climate solutions