Bringing discourse to the market: the commodification of avoided deforestation

Abstract

Creating a mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) in tropical developing countries has become, from 2005 onward, a central element in international climate protection discourse. The goal is to create financial incentives for forest protection by making avoided deforestation a tradable good that can be sold on the carbon market or to government funds. A discourse-analytical perspective on the process of commodification and market creation is developed in order to assess how avoided deforestation is being made tradable. Going beyond existing approaches, such a perspective enables us to highlight the contestedness and contingency of the commodification and market creation process. The extent to which on-going qualification and commensuration practices can result in a disentanglement of avoided deforestation as tradable good is discussed, and one of the consequences of a successful commodification of avoiding deforestation – the carbonification of forests – is highlighted.