This blog post is part of the series What to Read.
Are forest carbon projects in Africa green but mean? I find this catchy titled paper raises a fair question that also extends to other world regions and countries which take part in the carbon market. Admittedly, not all carbon projects are green. There is evidence that various carbon projects either do not reduce emissions or promote monoculture plantations. That said, recently more and more countries have been pushing ahead with carbon framework regulations without taking the complexities of land and resource rights sufficiently into account. This is particularly problematic. National legislation plays a pivotal role as most global carbon frameworks defer companies to national laws and policies. Against this backdrop, I want to draw attention to the underexplored nexus of land tenure in carbon frameworks and their impact on carbon justice in this digest.
Following the finalization of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on Crediting Mechanisms at COP29 in 2024, the Grassroot Justice Network, ILC, and RRI published a helpful overview of why land rights matter for carbon markets. In a similar vein, a Global Land Alliance publication outlines key considerations and action on securing Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ land rights in the voluntary carbon market. Despite its importance for carbon justice, publications on tenure rights in the context of developing national legislation to govern carbon markets are surprisingly few. Exploring this gap, the Land Portal together with ALIGN and Namati organized the webinar “Land Tenure and National Carbon Frameworks” on 27 March 2025.
The debate on land rights and climate change mitigation is not new, however. Tenure security, land rights reform and related challenges have been widely discussed in the context of REDD+ projects. Framed as the resource property question in climate stewardship and green transitions, scholars argue that who profits from the financial gains of carbon forest projects depends on land ownership. One of the problems is that forests are oftentimes not registered in the name of Indigenous Peoples or local communities but considered as public land owned by the state. As such, existing property rights do not reflect who is using the land nor the socially constructed meaning of land, forests, and their resources. Furthermore, many forest-dependent Indigenous Peoples and local communities have limited financial resources or access to apply for formal land titles.
The challenges of ensuring land rights in carbon projects are manifold. At the same time, the success of carbon markets depends on the participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who are often the custodians of the forests, wetlands, and rangelands that store the carbon. I like how Eileen Wakesho reflects on the new approach in Northern Kenya that prioritizes and centers community rights hoping this can set an example for others, too. In contrast to business as usual, I would like to add that there are also non-market ideas beyond offsets, which offer alternative opportunities to bring together land rights and biosequestration.
Taking this as an opportunity, I want to introduce four timely publications that focus on land rights and national regulatory carbon frameworks, including a policy toolkit, two briefs, and an introduction series. The first publication provides a comprehensive toolkit to embedding carbon justice in national legislation, offering both theoretical underpinnings and pragmatic tools for effective policymaking. Second, IIED’s briefing offers an underexplored perspective to the debate by drawing attention to potential legal and policy problems governments may face when granting carbon rights. The third publication, a policy briefing, analyses the state of carbon rights for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples in 33 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The last piece closes with short explainers on carbon markets, credits, links to rights, and related questions that can help and empower Indigenous Peoples and communities in legislation design processes.
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Publications reviewed in this issue:
- How National Legislation Can Advance Carbon Justice: A Policy Toolkit
- Tackling the complexities of carbon rights
- State of Indigenous Peoples’, Local Communities’, and Afro-descendant Peoples’ Carbon Rights in Tropical and Subtropical Lands and Forests
- Carbon Markets, Forests and Rights: An Introductory Series
How National Legislation Can Advance Carbon Justice: A Policy Toolkit
By Namati and Grassroots Justice Network, 2025
Namati, the Grassroot Justice Network, and a number of local partners put together a comprehensive guide on how national policies and legislation can be designed to ensure carbon justice in carbon trading and offsetting schemes. It emphasizes the importance of protecting community rights and ensuring fair participation as well as equitable benefit-sharing in the rapidly expanding carbon markets. The toolkit was developed through extensive consultations, workshops, and roundtable discussions with experts from diverse backgrounds. Overall, I find the toolkit is a practical resource for policymakers, advocates, and community leaders. Its goal is to guide the creation of laws that not only address climate change by reducing carbon emissions but also promote fairness, protect rights, and ensure that the benefits of the green transition are shared equitably. Advocates and policymakers can use this toolkit to push for better laws that align with carbon justice principles. Initially, the toolkit defines the carbon justice principles, including FPIC, fair participation, or fair compensation, and outlines common gaps in national policies. By drawing on case studies from Kenya, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Liberia the authors show how these principles can be or are integrated into national law. They identify key stakeholders in the context of national carbon policies, and explain the influence of international agreements, such as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, on national legislation. The toolkit also provides a tool to evaluate whether existing or designed national policies align with carbon justice principles. Without doubt, the toolkit provides a comprehensive framework for integrating carbon justice into national legislation, but it has some limitations. First, it assumes that governments are willing to prioritize community rights, which is often not the case in practice. The authors do not sufficiently address the challenges of corruption, lack of transparency, and weak enforcement or monitoring in many countries. Also, while they outline the power dynamics at play, they do not take into consideration how corporate lobbying, international financial institutions, and state interests shape carbon markets and can undermine justice-oriented policies. Likewise, I think addressing the complexities of implementing FPIC in diverse political and legal settings would have been helpful.
Tackling the complexities of carbon rights
By Kaitlin Cordes, Lorenzo Cotula and Emily Polack, 2025
This IIED briefing looks at the complexities of biosequestered carbon rights which refer to the right to benefit from carbon stored in forests or soils. The authors critically examine carbon rights and their implications for land governance and human rights. Besides warnings that ill-conceived carbon rights regimes could distract from more effective climate solutions, the authors discuss the features of carbon rights regimes and the risks that their establishment can create to local communities and wider government policies. They emphasize that while carbon rights can clearly help fight climate change, they also pose risks to land ownership, local communities, and government policies. Drawing attention to potential (future) legal and policy problems governments may face when granting carbon rights provides an underexplored and important perspective to the debate. The briefing’s value lies exactly here: it urges governments to think critically before rushing into adopting legislation that creates carbon rights as tradable private rights. It also offers a strong human rights-based perspective on an issue often dominated by market-driven narratives. The authors do not suggest concrete steps on how to develop fair and inclusive policies – but never claimed to do so. Instead of drawing on case studies, the briefing focuses on a much-needed discussion on the hidden risks of carbon deals.
State of Indigenous Peoples’, Local Communities’, and Afro-descendant Peoples’ Carbon Rights in Tropical and Subtropical Lands and Forests
By RRI and McGill University, 2024
This policy brief examines the state of carbon rights for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples in 33 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In response to the increasing reliance on nature-based climate solutions to mitigate carbon emissions, the brief highlights the risks these initiatives pose to communities whose land and resource rights are often unclear or unrecognized. The authors underscore that despite years of international investment in REDD+ and other climate initiatives, governments have failed to implement robust legal protections for community-based carbon rights. In their detailed analysis, the authors show that only 19 out of 33 countries have laws recognizing collective land rights for Indigenous and local communities and that Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) is rarely protected in domestic laws. What is more, only three countries explicitly grant communities the right to benefit from carbon markets, while in most cases, these rights remain ambiguous or retained by the state. In addition, the findings indicate that there are only weak carbon market regulations and only very few carbon registries in place. Concluding, the brief calls for urgent reforms to strengthen tenure security, ensure transparency, and establish equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms. I find that the policy brief provides an excellent overview of the state of carbon rights for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples drawing on a variety of case studies. However, it would benefit from more actionable recommendations, a deeper analysis of why implementation remains weak, and the showcasing of success stories. I would have expected a discussion on existing power asymmetries between private investors, governments and communities as well as on corporate influence over policy-making or elite capture.
Carbon Markets, Forests and Rights: An Introductory Series
By Forest Peoples Programme and Global Justice Clinic, 2023
This introductory guide provides a set of short explainers on carbon markets and their implications for Indigenous People’s rights. Originally developed for Indigenous communities in Guyana, the explainer was later adapted for a wider audience. It is designed to help Indigenous communities understand key concepts, risks, and benefits of carbon markets to make informed decisions. While the explainer does not discuss national carbon frameworks per se, I included it in this digest as it may be particularly helpful for Indigenous and local communities in actively contributing to the design phase of carbon legislation. The authors provide a critical overview of carbon markets and show the differences between regulated and voluntary carbon markets. The explainer also outlines associated risks for Indigenous Peoples, such as loss of land, restriction of customary practices, the lack of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. The emphasis on key considerations for Indigenous communities is one the strengths of this publication, i.e. demanding legal recognition of their land before engaging in carbon markets, seeking independent advice, or the need to verify compensation agreements and safeguards. The explainer does not really touch on internal governance challenges, i.e. the management of funds, ensuring fair distribution, and conflict resolution. I was also missing best practice examples of communities who successfully engage in carbon markets to secure funding for land protection, reforestation, and sustainable development. The document is a valuable resource. It would be even more useful if it provided practical tools for communities and a more nuanced understanding of different indigenous perspectives and needs. It could have also included some guidance on how to negotiate fair agreements, what terms to look for, or provide legal resources for indigenous groups seeking to protect their rights.
About 'What to Read'
What to Read is a periodic blog in which Land Portal researchers share their reading list and tell you why the selected pieces stand out in a sea of information. It is a reflection on some of the most important new articles and reports that aims to identify the most current points of discussion around land and related issues, distill key messages and points of debate, and offer you an entry point to learn more. Sign up to receive the What to Read digest.
