Towards a synthesized critique of forest-based ‘carbon-fix’ strategies

Abstract

This article synthesizes critiques of ‘carbon-fix’ strategies in the forestry sector to clarify key concerns about reductionist treatments of forests and carbon and to facilitate further debate. It begins by asserting that since climate change mitigation has been placed at the centre of forest governance, forests have been deemed to serve as ‘carbon-fixing’ devices in ways that can be discerned across three distinct but inter-related categories: (i) carbon storage devices, (ii) carbon removal devices and (iii) net-zero bioenergy devices. A transdisciplinary literature review is used to shed light on key concerns relating to the instrumentalisation of forests within each of these categories. By doing so, this article contributes to a deeper understanding of why relegating forests to a ‘carbon-fix’ function is insufficient to tackle climate change and, rather, poses threats to forest ecosystems and forest-dependent communities. This review ultimately calls into question the use of forests to delay crucial systemic changes, without diminishing the importance of forest conservation, restoration, governance, as well as technological innovation, in mitigating the ongoing harmful effects of climate change.