Anthropogenically forced climate change has emerged as one of the most important, and polarizing, issues of our time. Afforestation generated carbon offset projects hold a position in Canada as potentially influential, yet frustratingly under-utilized, options to mitigate climate change. This dissertation responds to the question, “what are the economic implications of afforestation generated carbon offset institutions in Canada – and how appropriate are the tools of the New Institutional Economics (NIE) in their identification?” I establish the context for discussion by arguing that the NIE, as practiced, seems incapable of providing rigorous analysis while simultaneously responding to questions of power and distribution. The case of afforestation generated carbon offset marketing is presented as an appropriate context for exploring this point. A literature review is then used to establish general patterns regarding aggregating institutions for offset production and marketing, and aggregating institutions are presented as a response to the effects of transaction costs on the Canadian offset market. I then develop supply and demand curves to describe the equilibrium state of the Canadian offset market, into which the transaction costs borne by three aggregators are integrated. Their performance in fulfilling various policy objectives is evaluated. The results indicate that the primary variation between scenarios is the distribution of benefits. This focus on the distribution of benefits continues through demonstrating how subtle variations in modeling coefficients affect the regional distribution of afforestation projects within Canada, identifying the power associated with policy maker ideology. The role of policy maker ideology is then explicitly examined through a survey of government analysts and technicians and the application of discriminant analysis. The primary axes of afforestation ideology are identified, and demonstrated to be independent of concerns of transaction costs and aggregation. These results are integrated to argue that distributional concerns, particularly when ideologies are active in informing policy maker preferences, are critical to achieving sustainable policy outcomes, and that the NIE can respond to such concerns, but only if reform takes place to legitimate these techniques as part of the standard economic discourse.

Anthropogenically forced climate change has emerged as one of the most important, and polarizing, issues of our time. Afforestation generated carbon offset projects hold a position in Canada as potentially influential, yet frustratingly under-utilized, options to mitigate climate change. This dissertation responds to the question, “what are the economic implications of afforestation generated carbon offset institutions in Canada – and how appropriate are the tools of the New Institutional Economics (NIE) in their identification?” I establish the context for discussion by arguing that the NIE, as practiced, seems incapable of providing rigorous analysis while simultaneously responding to questions of power and distribution. The case of afforestation generated carbon offset marketing is presented as an appropriate context for exploring this point. A literature review is then used to establish general patterns regarding aggregating institutions for offset production and marketing, and aggregating institutions are presented as a response to the effects of transaction costs on the Canadian offset market. I then develop supply and demand curves to describe the equilibrium state of the Canadian offset market, into which the transaction costs borne by three aggregators are integrated. Their performance in fulfilling various policy objectives is evaluated. The results indicate that the primary variation between scenarios is the distribution of benefits. This focus on the distribution of benefits continues through demonstrating how subtle variations in modeling coefficients affect the regional distribution of afforestation projects within Canada, identifying the power associated with policy maker ideology. The role of policy maker ideology is then explicitly examined through a survey of government analysts and technicians and the application of discriminant analysis. The primary axes of afforestation ideology are identified, and demonstrated to be independent of concerns of transaction costs and aggregation. These results are integrated to argue that distributional concerns, particularly when ideologies are active in informing policy maker preferences, are critical to achieving sustainable policy outcomes, and that the NIE can respond to such concerns, but only if reform takes place to legitimate these techniques as part of the standard economic discourse.

Carbon is a metric at the centre of contemporary debates. It is invoked to explain responses to climate change and justify political decisions over the economy and environment. Its ubiquity might suggest that the definition of carbon is broadly agreed upon, but along with greenhouse gas (GHG) measurements, articulating carbon as a commodity has incorporated debates over sustainable development (SD). The use of market-based mechanisms to manage carbon quantities results in articulations of the concept that reinforce consumption as a means to achieve public policy aims, but these are also contested. This research examines the concept of carbon to explore what might be taken-for-granted or overlooked when carbon is invoked. The research takes an ethnographic approach to carbon by examining offsetting – paying for reductions in GHG emissions at one location to make up for a continuation or increase of emissions at another. The novelty, complexity and lack of trust in carbon offsetting have resulted in numerous voluntary standards to improve consumer confidence in this commodity. The standard organisations’ position in codifying, measuring and accrediting carbon makes them valuable sites at which to describe the materialities of the concept. I use data collected from the administrative offices of two voluntary carbon offset standards in 2010-11 to explore what is included and excluded within carbon as it was enacted at these sites. Carbon is described in this research as an assemblage and a multiplicity – it is articulated in varying ways by actors within offset markets. Through the work of standards organisations, the “orthodoxies” of offsetting are identified as taken-for-granted features of carbon. In contrast, the position of SD is identified as variable across different articulations of carbon. Using a post-Actor Network Theory approach innovatively combined with Suchman’s typology of legitimacy, this diversity in carbon is not normatively evaluated; instead the focus is on how assemblages of carbon differentiate the legitimacy of SD as a feature of offsetting. Some take SD for granted as an inherent aspect of offsetting, for others it is a desirable feature, but not necessary. Alternatively it could be offered as an add-on possibility without suggesting SD implied better offsetting, and for others offsetting was best enacted without assembling SD concerns. Exploring carbon as an assemblage demonstrates the continuous and flexible constructions of carbon as a commodity and concept. When examined in detail, the marketing strategies and technical rules of different standards produce varying articulations of carbon. Furthermore, this research explores how the work of voluntary carbon offset standards excludes the scrutiny of sites of consumption of offsets. This exclusion, as with the integration of SD, is notable for the differences in how it is articulated by standard staff – challenged by some, taken-for-granted by others but with diverse rationales for each position. These features are informative in relation to the roles ascribed to voluntary standards across other commodities as well as in relation to carbon. Attending to the multiplicity that exists in the daily practices of offset markets suggests possibilities for those looking to stabilise or reform the concept of carbon as well as understanding the activities of voluntary standards.

Carbon offsetting has been an institutionalised response to climate change for over a decade. Over this period, climate change has become more severe and calls for climate justice have become increasingly insistent. Yet the normative controversies of carbon offsetting remain unresolved, as debates about the environmental quality, development impacts and ethical implications of carbon offsetting continue. This thesis explores the relationship between morality and carbon offsetting in three domains. First it provides an evaluation of the ethics of offsetting. Second it gives an account of the 'lay normativity' of the market, describing how carbon market actors interpret and act upon issues of moral concern. And third, it explains offsetting's moral economy. First, the thesis examines the moral rationales for and problems of offsetting in order to clarify the bases of criticisms levelled at offsets by researchers concerned about trends in neoliberal environmental governance. In evaluation of the ethics of offsetting, the PhD recognises some limited rationales, but mainly highlights widespread problems including lack of environmental integrity and failure to produce 'sustainable development'. The structure of the market is shown to create opportunities for malpractice and difficulties for reform. Second, building on work in cultural political economy, the research describes carbon offsetting's lay normativity. The account is based on interviews with over sixty carbon offset market actors including project developers, consultants, auditors, regulators, retailers and buyers in the UK, continental Europe, and in India. Findings show that the market is founded on ethical principles: offsetting is nothing without notions of environmental and developmental care. Critiques of, and reforms to, offsetting are also grounded in principled debate. But carbon market actors often use their power to further commercial interests that are not aligned with production of environmental or developmental value. And yet, even as rationales are ignored and problems are amplified, market actors maintain a discursive semblance of moral behaviour through forms of justification, story-telling and identity work. Third, the thesis explains how principles, profit and power combine to affect the governance of offsetting. It shows that the concentration of power among profit-seeking actors drives the production of offsetting's moral problems in the stages of project development, regulation and retail. Commercial interests in the politics of knowledge lead to manipulation of the discursive framings through which people come to understand offsets. Ethical narratives are deployed to sustain the market in states of dysfunction, enabling privileged groups to gain exchange value at the expense of climate protection and sustainable development. Through this explanatory work, the PhD contributes an original application of ideas about moral political economy to the case of climate change and carbon trading, demonstrating that powerful actors can shape culture and alter our perceptions of right and wrong.

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradatin (REDD+) is a market-based approachto address tropical deforestation as a key driver of anthropogenic climate change. In Tanzania, participatory forest management (PFM) was used as a vehicle for the institutionalisation of REDD+and implementation of pilot initiatives. With the lens of political ecology, this thesis analyses the effects of the REDD+ pilot project ‘Advancing REDD+ in the Kolo Hills Forests’ (ARKFor) inKondoa District, Tanzania, on structures of access and use of forest resources for local communities. This analysis is done by using qualitative interviews with villagers living within the REDD+ project area and government actors involved in forest management as well as textual analysis of a PFMagreement and community bye-laws established within the ARKFor project. The findings suggest that REDD+ pilot activities were planned without real participation by local communities and failed to take complex conservation histories and underlying power structures into account. Community access rights were not legally secured which resulted in processes of re-centralisation of forest managementand ‘green grabbing’ after the conclusion of project activities in 2014. The study underscores that successful forest management decentralisation needs to be based on localised, longer-term adaptive processes which clash with the globally driven, neoliberal conservation logic of REDD+.

Le marché volontaire du carbone est un mécanisme de marché de compensation d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre pour les entreprises et les particuliers non assujettis à un quota de réduction d’émissions. Jusqu'à présent, il n’a fait l’objet que de peu de recherches académiques. Ce travail s’intéresse à la gouvernance de la chaîne d’acteurs impliqués dans ce marché. Il utilise une approche pluridisciplinaire centrée sur les relations internationales, la science politique appliquée à la compensation et aux standards volontaires environnementaux et s’appuie sur une analyse anthropologique des projets de développement. Il s’agit de répondre à la question: comment les projets de compensation volontaire du carbone sont-ils gouvernés ? L’étude de cas d’un programme de diffusion de foyers améliorés au Pérou se focalise d’abord sur le contexte social et culturel de la cuisson dans les Andes avant d’étudier quatre projets avant financement carbone. Ensuite, le standard utilisé pour certifier ce projet, ainsi que le détaillant des crédits carbone générés par le projet et trois de ses entreprises clientes sont présentés. On peut alors aborder la création, la gestion et les premiers résultats du programme au travers d’une ethnographie de l’entreprise sociale qui en est à l’origine pour comprendre finalement l’influence du projet dans le secteur péruvien. Cette recherche montre un système de gouvernance multi-niveaux et pluri-acteurs majoritairement privée qui agit en grande partie en parallèle de l'État. Ce mode de gouvernance caractérisé par une succession de standards qui tentent de faire coller la réalité à un modèle est appelé standardisme. / The voluntary carbon offset market is a market mechanism for offsetting greenhouse gases emissions for organizations and individuals that are not legally committed to reductions. Until now it has not been studied much in academic circles. This dissertation looks at the governance of the chain of actors involved in the mechanism. A pluri-disciplinary approach is used based on international relations, political science of offsets and standards combined with an anthropological analysis of development projects. The central question is thus: how are carbon-offset programs governed? The empirical work is a case study of a new stove (improved cookstoves) diffusion program in Peru under the Gold Standard. The first focus is on the social and cultural context of cooking in the Andes. Then four projects before carbon funding are studied. The standard is the subject of the following section and the retailer of the credits generated by the programme and three different types of clients are then presented. We can then discuss the creation, design and management of the standard through an ethnography of the social business that implements. Finally, the influence of the projects on the sector can be discussed. The chain studied presents a governance system that is multi-level and multi-actors, with mainly private actors that act parallel to the state. This type of governance is characterized by a series of standards that define the model the reality should resemble to and is called standardism.

På senaste år har trender inom hållbarhet och miljöarbetet fått mer uppmärksamhet. Allt fler organisationer och privatpersoner börjar bli mer medvetna om potentiella hot som kommer från klimat- och miljöförändringarna, därmed ökar efterfrågan på olika sätt att klimatkompensera. Många tidigare studier har tytt på att det huvudsakliga bakomliggande motivet till att klimatkompensera ska främst vara på grund av etiska skäl och att många företag vill helt enkelt bara ta ansvar för sina miljöskadliga aktiviteter. Dock finns det även andra anledningar som motiverar företagen till att klimatkompensera, bland annat ekonomiska skäl. Syftet med detta arbete är att identifiera genomförbara lösningar till hur små och mellanstora företag kan klimatkompensera för verksamhetens befintliga leveransflöden. Denna studie är baserad på den kvalitativa metoden med en deduktiv ansats. Datainsamling har gjorts i form av intervjuer och litteraturstudier, totalt fyra semi-strukturerade intervjuer har genomförts under arbetets gång. Alla intervjuer är inspelade och därmed transkriberade för att undvika låg validitet samt reliabilitet. Resultatet visade för att lyckas med klimatkompensation så krävs det förståelse om både om hur mycket utsläpp som ska kompenseras för samt vilket projekt som är mest relevant att finansiera. Det finns många aktörer som kan stå till hjälp för mindre företag som inte har resurser att genomföra en kartläggning om utsläpp på egen hand. / In recent years, there has been an uprising trend of sustainability and different environmental works have received more attention than before. Many organizations and individuals are becoming more aware of the potential threats that come from climate and environmental changes, thus increasing the demand for different ways of carbon offsetting. Many previous studies have suggested that the main underlying motive for carbon offsetting is mostly due to ethical reasons and that many companies just simply take responsibility for their environmentally harmful activities. However, it is believed that there could also be other reasons that motivate companies to carbon offset, namely economic reasons. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and find possible solutions for how small and medium-sized companies can carbon offset for their supply chain regarding transportation. This study uses a qualitative method with a deductive approach. Data was collected through interviews and literatures, four interviews in total were conducted and was performed in a semistructural way. The Interviews were recorded and transcribed to avoid low validity and reliability. The result showed that in order to successfully compensate for your emissions, the company is required to understand both by how much of the emissions need to be compensated for and which project is most relevant to invest in. There are many actors who can be of much help to the smaller companies that lack the resources to do their own emission mapping.

Klimatkompensation är en relativt nyutvecklad mekanism och har till viss del standardiserats efter Kyotoprotokollet. Rapporten syftar till att kartlägga mekanismens applika- tioner, bakgrund, certifikat och program genom en komparativ litteraturstudie. Svenska företag som Tricorona och ZeroMission har utvecklat en verksamhet centrerad i meka- nismen. Aktörerna har en uppenbar positiv syn på klimatkompensation men åsikten är dock inte universal. Miljörörelser som GreenPeace och Jordens vänner är kritiska till mekanismen, specifikt skogsprojekt som enligt organisationerna saknar permanens. Vidare menar de att endast Gold Standard projekt anses legitima, WWF delar åsikten men menar att vissa skogsprojekt är legitima. Naturskyddsföreningen har en liknande upp- fattning, organisationen menar att mekanismen även kan ge en ekonomisk uppfattning av utsläpp. Miljörörelsen har en kollektiv uppfattning om att klimatkompensation bör tolkas som en sista utväg efter interna reformer genomförts. Vidare har Arla, MAX och IKEA analyserats med avseende på deras hållbarhetsstrategier. Företagen är starkt förankrade till hållbarhet genom en omfattande marknadsföring. Det konstateras att Arla och MAX klimatkompenserar primärt genom skogsprojekt. Bå- da företagen redovisar klimatneutrala produkter vilket åstadkommits genom omfattan- de applikation av mekanismen genom ZeroMission. Till skillnad från Arla och MAX klimatkompenserar IKEA genom internt producerade skogsprojekt samt vattenrening. Företaget redovisar skepsis mot skogsprojektens permanens och vill därför undersöka framtida alternativ såsom energiutveckling. Samtliga företag har ambitioner att bli klimatneutrala inom en snar framtid. Rapporten jämför även Project Drawdowns lista över åtgärder för att nå 1,5-gradersmålet med de relaterade projekten. Vidare utförs en komparativ analys mellan företagens ut- släpp relaterad till Sveriges. Det visar sig att projekten som redogörs för rapporten är prioriterade på ett adekvat sätt jämfört med Project Drawdowns lista. Det konstateras att en bred projektportfölj som är prioriterad enligt samma lista är önsk- värd för effektiv klimatkompensation. Mekanismen kan möjliggöra en mjukare reform till ett hållbarare samhälle, men innebär samtidigt rebound effekter och försummande av nödvändiga och svåra förändringar. Därav måste klimatkompensationens alla perspektiv beaktas för att skapa en legitim hållbarhetsstrategi. / Carbon offsetting is a relatively new developed mechanism that has, to some extent, been standardised since the Kyoto Protocol. This report aims to show the mechanisms appli- cations, background, certificates and programs, through a comparative literature study. Swedish companies as Tricorona and ZeroMission have developed a business model based on the mechanism. The companies share a positive view on carbon offsetting , however, it is not universal. Enviromentalists as GreenPeace and Friends of Earth are critical to the mechanism, specifically to projects related to forestry, which according to the enviromentalists lack permanence. Furthermore, the enviromentalists declare the Gold Standard certificate as the only legitimate option. WWF share some of the ideas, yet still think some forestry projects are legitimate. The Swedish organization Natur- skyddsföreningen have a similiar opinion, also, they belive that the mechanism can pro- vide an economic view of emissions. The environmentalists have a collective view that climate compensation should be interpreted as a last resort after internal reforms have been implemented. Furthermore the Swedish companies Arla, MAX and IKEA has been analyzed based on their sustainable strategies. The companies are firmly rooted in sustainability due to extensive marketing. It is found that Arla and MAX carbon offset primarily through forestry projects. Both companies offer climate-neutral products, which have been ac- hieved through extensive application of the mechanism through ZeroMission. In con- trast to Arla and MAX, IKEA carbon offsets through internally developed forestry- and watercleaning-projects. The company declares skepticism towards the permanence of the forestry projects. All companies have ambitions to become climate-neutral in the near future. The report also compares Project Drawdown’s list of measures to reach the 1.5-degree goal with the related projects. Furthermore, a comparative analysis is carried out between the companies’ emissions related to the Swedish. It turns out that the projects presented in the report are adequately prioritized compared to Project Drawdowns’ list. It is stated that a broad project portfolio which is prioritized accordingly is desirable for efficient carbon offsetting. The mechanism may allow a smoother reform to a sustai- nable society, but at the same time involve rebound effects and neglecting necessary and difficult actions. Therefore, all of the perspectives related to carbon offsetting must be taken into consideration in order to create a legitimate sustainable strategy.

Greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide and methane absorb and emit heat radiation, which contribute to global warming. Human activities such as increased emissions through burning of fossil fuels and deforestation drive this climate threat. International treaties such as the Paris agreement, enables stakeholders to mitigate effects of climate impact and create new sustainable markets. Various carbon offset projects on the voluntary market are an attempt to neutralize climate impact. In this report we identify five main project types for carbon offsets: i) forestry and land use, ii) renewable energy and energy effectivization, iii) transport, iv) waste handling and v) household devices. These project types are evaluated against UNs 17 sustainable development goals. The results show a net positive impact on goal 13, Climate action, for all project types, which is congruent with the focus on carbon offsetting. The results also show that impact varies depending on how the project is deigned. Climate offsetting has enabled multiple stakeholders to contribute to climate change mitigation. Despite many global benefits, carbon offsets have been subject to criticism in cases where the concept is not used as intended. There are currently no clear guidelines as to when focus for companies should shift from internal reduction to external reduction through offsetting. Validation of carbon offsets is another problematic aspect, as there is no one standard for the market to secure the quality of projects.

Cette thèse porte sur le marché dit « volontaire » des services de compensation carbone. Sur ce marché, des entreprises, qui n’ont aucune obligation de souscrire à ces services, achètent à des opérateurs privés, ONG ou entreprises, des « crédits carbone » pour « compenser » leurs émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Pour obtenir ces crédits carbone, les opérateurs du marché mettent en œuvre des projets de réduction des émissions de GES dans les pays du Sud. Ces nouveaux échanges marchands du début des années 2000 ne sont pas sans susciter de critiques. Journalistes, ONG environnementales et scientifiques considèrent que ce marché, d’une part, ne permet pas de réduire efficacement les émissions de GES et, d’autre part, que les populations du Sud encourent de potentiels dangers avec la mise en œuvre de tels projets. La thèse interroge ainsi l’apparent paradoxe du choix des entreprises d’investir dans des services environnementaux contestés alors que ces derniers ne constituent pas une obligation réglementaire et peuvent mettre en danger leur réputation. En considérant le marché « volontaire » comme un « marché contesté », selon le sens donné à cette notion par Steiner et Trespeuch (2014), la thèse rend compte des conditions d’existence et de maintien de ce marché. A partir d’entretiens, d’observations et de l’analyse de sources écrites, elle examine le rôle de divers dispositifs, du travail marchand ainsi que de l’appropriation de l’offre par les acheteurs dans l’organisation de ce marché. La thèse interroge plus généralement le rapport entre économie et environnement et s’intéresse aux ressorts de l’engagement « volontaire » des entreprises pour le climat. / This dissertation deals with the so-called “voluntary” carbon offset market. In this market, companies, which have no obligation to subscribe to these services, purchase “carbon credits” to “offset” their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private operators (NGOs or businesses). To obtain carbon credits, operators implement GHG emission reduction projects in Southern countries. These new trade exchanges, which date from the early 2000s, provoke critics. Journalists, environmental NGOs and scientists believe that this market on the one hand does not effectively reduce GHG emissions to fight against climate change, and on the other hand that people in the South face potential dangers linked to the implementation of carbon offsetting projects. The dissertation thus questions the apparent paradox of the choice of companies to invest in contested environmental services when they are not a regulatory obligation and may endanger their reputation. By considering the “voluntary” market as a “contested market”, according to the meaning given to this notion by Steiner and Trespeuch (2014), the dissertation explores the conditions of existence and maintenance of this market. Through interviews, observations and written sources, our research analyzes the role of various market devices, but also commercial work as well as the appropriation of the offer by buyers in organizing this market. In doing so, it questions more generally the relationship between economy and the environment and is interested in the determinant factors of the “voluntary” commitment of companies for the fight against global warming.