TY - JOUR

T1 - Racial capitalism’s role in mitigation deterrence from carbon removal

AU - Buck, Holly Jean

AU - Markusson, Nils

AU - Carton, Wim

PY - 2024/10/31

Y1 - 2024/10/31

N2 - Two major sociopolitical challenges loom over the development of carbon removal. One is mitigation deterrence: that research and deployment of carbon removal could delay mitigation efforts. The other is environmental and climate justice — in particular that carbon removal will be developed in ways that further environmental racism, e.g. for the benefit of interests and groups in the global North while harming overburdened communities of color. A variety of policy measures have been proposed to deal with these challenges, from developing separate targets for emissions and removals to social safeguarding principles and standards. Here, we suggest that such measures in and of themselves are unlikely to be sufficient. Policy recommendations and scholarship on mitigation deterrence need to become more attentive to how racial capitalism helps form the conditions for mitigation deterrence. We describe how racial capitalism sets up mitigation deterrence, and how mitigation deterrence in turn goes on to perpetuate racial capitalism. We conclude by suggesting a few ways in which incorporating understandings of racial capitalism can help policymakers, carbon removal developers and investors make decisions that limit the risks of mitigation deterrence and racial injustice.

AB - Two major sociopolitical challenges loom over the development of carbon removal. One is mitigation deterrence: that research and deployment of carbon removal could delay mitigation efforts. The other is environmental and climate justice — in particular that carbon removal will be developed in ways that further environmental racism, e.g. for the benefit of interests and groups in the global North while harming overburdened communities of color. A variety of policy measures have been proposed to deal with these challenges, from developing separate targets for emissions and removals to social safeguarding principles and standards. Here, we suggest that such measures in and of themselves are unlikely to be sufficient. Policy recommendations and scholarship on mitigation deterrence need to become more attentive to how racial capitalism helps form the conditions for mitigation deterrence. We describe how racial capitalism sets up mitigation deterrence, and how mitigation deterrence in turn goes on to perpetuate racial capitalism. We conclude by suggesting a few ways in which incorporating understandings of racial capitalism can help policymakers, carbon removal developers and investors make decisions that limit the risks of mitigation deterrence and racial injustice.

U2 - 10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103865

DO - 10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103865

M3 - Journal article

VL - 160

JO - Environmental Science and Policy

JF - Environmental Science and Policy

SN - 1462-9011

M1 - 103865

ER -