Reforming global carbon markets or re-imagining alternative climate solutions and sustainabilities? An analysis of selected NGO strategies in Uganda

Abstract

Carbon markets have emerged globally as a central feature in market based strategies to address the climate crisis. Global trade in carbon is based on the premise that it is possible to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and stabilise the earth's climate, while at the same time generating new forms of capital accumulation. Amongst carbon market initiatives includes Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) type projects, that connect peasant and subsistence farmers in the south with northern consumers and industries. These projects are expanding on the African continent, giving rise to social, economic and ecological impacts. In this article we chart the responses of social movements to carbon markets. Through a study of selected NGOs active in carbon market campaigns in Uganda, we examine the strategies and tactics of movements in responding to the expanding carbon economy. Our findings demonstrate NGOs' approaches move between, and across, reformist and rebel (or radical) change agendas. Dominant strategies are directed towards reforming carbon markets and associated forestry governance. Meanwhile, a rebel, or radical change agenda -including rejecting the language and ideology of carbon trade, alongside building autonomous local level rights based movements -emerges in the constrained spaces of both privatised green economic governance and a militarised state. Given the constrained opportunities for radical movement organising, and the frequent institutionalization and limited influence of NGOs, increasing understandings of these radical change agendas and their contributions for re-imagining alternative sustainabilities is significant for scholars, activists and practitioners alike. Key words: Carbon markets, REDD, Uganda, alternative sustainabilities RésuméLes marchés du carbone sont apparus globalement comme un élément central des stratégies basées sur le marché pour faire face à la crise climatique. Le commerce mondial du carbone repose sur le principe qu'il est possible de réduire les émissions mondiales de gaz à effet de serre et de stabiliser le climat de la terre tout en générant de nouvelles formes d'accumulation de capital. Parmi les initiatives du marché du carbone figurent les projets de réduction des émissions provenant du déboisement et de la dégradation (REDD), qui relient les paysans et les agriculteurs de subsistance du Sud aux consommateurs et aux industries du Nord. Ces projets se développent sur le continent africain, donnant lieu à des impacts sociaux, économiques et écologiques. Dans cet article, nous répertorions les résonances des mouvements sociaux sur les marchés du carbone. Grâce à une étude de certaines ONG actives dans les campagnes sur le marché du carbone en Ouganda, nous examinons leurs stratégies et leurs tactiques, et comment elles réagissent à l'expansion de l'économie du carbone. Nos résultats démontrent que les approches des ONGs se déplacent entre les 1 Dr Kristen Lyons, Associate Professor and Dr Peter Westoby, Senior Lecturer; School o...

Making cooking champions: Perceptions of local actors on private sector development in Uganda

“…a.o. Lyons et al, 2017;Wanjohi, 2016). The subsidised price has also allowed the companies to maintain a commercial relationship with users who would otherwise not have been able to purchase a stove.…”

“…Although great expectations were fuelled by the GoU's commitment to expand national capacity and participation in global carbon markets (Lyons et al, 2017), they have not yet been met. While the PoAs contributed to balancing out the distribution of carbon, the big bulk of the carbon money does not go to the least developed countries as a whole (Wood et al, 2016).…”

Charcoal power: The political violence of non-fossil fuel in Uganda

“…The Ugandan state and military -a military-political-business elite -have long been deeply involved in business and extractive industries, often using force to acquire land or concessions, and have been condemned in the past for their involvement in the looting of natural resources in neighboring countries (Sjögren, 2013;Fisher and Anderson, 2015;Mwenda, 2007). Militarized, forceful displacements of communities by the state, whether for minerals, game reserves, parks, infrastructure, agri-business, or personal accumulation, are often enforced through military violence (Martiniello, 2015a;Carmody and Taylor, 2016;Lyons, Nel and Westoby, 2017); indeed, many of the large commercial farms owned by state elites are reported to be guarded by the Ugandan military (Ocungi 2018). Charcoal, especially when regulation can be avoided, provides an opportunity for significant profit by controlling the trade from start to finish through significant vertical integration, as one person with capital and political connections can pay for access to land, bring in work crews, and transport the product to Kampala, all underpinned by free military force.…”

“…Cutting trees also removes disputed land out of the commons by insulating it from the multitude of claims that can arise from complex and contested customary tenure. In some cases, land owners were reported to be cutting down trees and then planting pine or eucalyptus monocultures -an activity reportedly enjoying extremely high rates of return on the order of 15-18%, according to the Uganda Investment Authority -either for timber or to be eventually burned in improved kilns in anticipation of a "green" charcoal market -an ironic aspect of "green development" (Byakagaba and Muhiirwe, 2017;Lyons and Nel, 2017).…”

Political ecology, variegated green economies, and the foreclosure of alternative sustainabilities

“…As Lyons et al (2017) show, in particular, social movements against land and 'green grabs' in Uganda have been enabled and constrained by prevailing institutional and policy contexts in the country. In turn, these constraints and opportunities have likewise led to debates amongst various constituencies about proper responses to perceived social and environmental injustices, particularly with regard to whether these responses should be generally reformist or more radical in nature.…”