blog posts

• primary for post 609100985

  From Exploitation to Empowerment: Rethinking Carbon Markets and Offsetting Mechanisms

  by Shoutao Wu (Vincent)May 21, 2025 2:45 pm

  Key Points

  1. Despite claims of a "triple win" for environmental conservation, economic growth, and equity, carbon markets and offsetting mechanisms often perpetuate structural exploitation and neocolonialism at the global, local, and procedural levels.
  2. Globally, countries in the Global North benefit disproportionately from carbon markets, outsourcing environmental responsibilities to countries in the Global South, which have unevenly distributed market power and an unjust territorialization of southern lands.
  3. Locally, carbon offsetting projects often result in the exploitation of indigenous and local communities in terms of land and carbon sovereignty, as well as fundamental human rights and a share of project benefits.
  4. Procedurally, the neglect of local knowledge and place-based environmental stewardship excludes indigenous communities from project initiation, negotiation, and decision-making processes.
  5. To circumvent these pitfalls, this brief provides recommendations to mobilize all stakeholders engaged in carbon markets and offsetting mechanisms, and together adopt rigorous, just, and equitable strategies to ensure the rights of the South and Indigenous peoples.
• primary for post 149381193

  Policy Brief: Closing the Education Gap for Indigenous Peoples by Adriene Lane, M.Ed.

  by Janet HusunukpeAug 3, 2023 10:30 am

  “Indigenous Peoples have less access to quality primary and secondary education than other groups, due to the lack of education that respects their cultures and languages. Minority languages, which are spoken by Indigenous Peoples, are often not used for official purposes, including in education. Students whose home languages differ from those taught at school have lower test results and reading scores. Early mother tongue education improves students' performance in their second language and other subjects, and is more cost-effective than second language instruction.” - Adriene Lane.

  To view the full Policy Brief by Adriene Lane, click here.