Subtle Green Grabbing? The Extractive Dimensions of Carbon Offsetting

Among the subtlest forms of contemporary “green grabbing” are carbon offsetting ventures, as most nature-based carbon credits are issued in tropical countries through carbon forestry projects. While it may appear less problematic than the seizing of tangible land, the “scramble for carbon” unleashed by global “green” agendas implies new de facto enclosures—often on Indigenous land—and requires the disciplining of forest communities. Drawing on research in the Colombian Amazon, this paper brings into relief the territorial and extractive dimensions of carbon offsetting, as well as the forms of resistance it generates.