Enough of the financialization of nature! - Interview with Dipti Bhatnagar from Radio Mundo Real on Vimeo.

Carbon emission trading and carbon markets allow countries and corporations to exceed their carbon emissions. If they are to emit more than what is allowed they can buy emission rights from a corporation that has a surplus. Dipti explains how these kinds of systems were introduced as a way to deal with the climate crisis, but has rather had the opposite effect: “what it does is basically allow the pollution to continue in the northern countries and to treat our southern countries as a sponge to soak up that pollution”. She emphasizes that climate change has worsened, the impact on communities has worsened while: “carbon markets have been there the whole time and done absolutely nothing”.

FOEI has been working in the inside space of the UN talks in Lima, monitoring and denouncing the different ways in which the financialization of nature has been discussed. Inside the process and the talks FOEI is pushing for: “no REDD, no climate smart agriculture, no soil carbon – we want nothing to do with that - we do not want any carbon markets”. Outside the UN Climate talks FOEI is informing allies of what is going on and collaborating: “so that we can fight these companies and governments that are pushing these false solutions for poor countries”.

To see Dipti Bhatnagar talk about the financialization of nature and the false solutions presented in the COP 20 in Lima – watch the video above.