In this talk, de la Torre will examine the consequences of climate change mitigation measures and the linked international markets for communities in Mexico. Carbon offsetting, particularly the forest credits in the international market, has been increasingly criticized by media and scholarship for their flawless but has gained track as a mechanism for climate change mitigation. Reducing our carbon footprint through carbon credits is now pervasive in many applications and platforms, such as purchasing flight or train tickets or by corporations and governments to remediate their environmental impact. Communities in the Global South are the primary sites for carbon “sequestration” projects in this market, and many take place in communal forests.

As part of de la Torre’s new book project, in this intervention he will discuss the intersection of carbon with land and labor through film, social mapping, and ethnographic work. De la Torre will first examine how carbon offsetting is implemented following the case of communities in Mexico. He aims to problematize how carbon serves to deepen social differences across its commodity chain. Specifically between Mexican rural communities and the California carbon market and the current boom of these programs as the market expands across the border. Then, de la Torre will make the case that current narratives for or against carbon offsets often oversimplify the issue. Hence, a more nuanced discussion is needed to understand the continuities of colonialism and the contradictions communities must navigate while preserving their forests.