Chasing carbon: Connecting the multiple ontologies of forestry-based carbon offsetting

This 3-year postdoc project (2017-2020) examines the use of forestry-based carbon offsetting as a way to shed light on the multiple ontologies of carbon (and carbon sequestration). It scrutinizes the ways in which carbon is materially and discursively articulated at different moments in the offsetting 'value chain' and asks what implications this ontological multiplicity holds for the sustainability claims that carbon forestry projects make. The research centers on two carbon forestry projects in Uganda – Trees for Global Benefits and the Kachung Forestry Project – as well as the companies and organizations involved in the social construction, production, purchase and trading of their respective carbon credits. Methods employed are mostly qualitative, based on stakeholder interviews, focus group discussions and critical discourse analysis. Theoretically, the project builds on a theoretical bridging of the 'neoliberal natures' literature and recent work in (post-)Actor-Network theory on the ontological multiplicity of reality.