Greenwashing The Global South: Carbon Markets and the Legacy of Colonial Extraction
Greenwashing The Global South: Carbon Markets and the Legacy of Colonial Extraction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36526/santhet.v9i5.6380Keywords:
Carbon Offset; Climate Colonialism; Postcolonial Theory; Global South; Climate JusticeAbstract
This paper critically examines carbon offset markets through a postcolonialism lens, arguing that these mechanisms embody a form of climate colonialism. Although often presented as pragmatic solutions to global climate change, carbon offsets tend to reproduce entrenched patterns of exploitation and inequality. Specifically, carbon offsets enable the Global North to continue emitting greenhouse gases while outsourcing environmental responsibility to the Global South, which effectively becomes a carbon sink. Drawing on qualitative analysis on policy discourses, real-world case studies, and postcolonial theory, this research examines how carbon markets facilitate land dispossession, resource extraction, and the accumulation of ecological debt. These processes echo historical colonial structures of domination and dependency. The paper foregrounds critical perspectives from the Global South, highlighting resistance to carbon offset practices and emphasizing the need for decolonial approaches to climate governance. Ultimately, it challenges dominant “green economy” narratives and advocates for climate justice rooted in equity, historical accountability, and non-market-based alternatives.
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