ABSTRACT
This chapter entails a climate justice–led and multiscalar analysis of the emerging Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) policy regime. Based on empirical research, the conceptions of climate justice which underpin and justify the discourse and practices of actors in the Norwegian-Ethiopian REDD+ partnership are critically assessed and examined. In analysing REDD+ through a climate justice lens, the research questions the extent to which REDD+ can form part of a just transition to low-carbon societies and investigates the potential conflicts between forest conservation and poverty alleviation in REDD+.
An innovative multiscalar analytical framework is used to assess and examine multiple actors on international, national and subnational levels of REDD+ governance, through a critical discourse analysis of policy documents and in-depth interviews. The research works towards bridging the divide between the ideal, abstract conceptions of climate justice theorised in the literature with the actual practice of climate change policy intervention on the ground, as well as building upon emerging REDD+ scholarship that has thus far insufficiently examined the policy from a justice-led perspective.
