Upsetting the Offset: The Political Economy of Carbon Markets

Upsetting the Offset engages critically with the political economy of carbon markets. It presents a range of case studies and critiques from around the world, showing how the scam of carbon markets affects the lives of communities. But the book doesn't stop there. It also presents a number of alternatives to carbon markets which enable communities to live in real low-carbon futures. 'If you wondered whether capitalism could ever produce the perfect weapon of its own destruction, try this heady mix of carbon fuels, the trade in financial derivatives, and more than a dash of neo-colonialism, and boom! But this book is far from resigned to that fate. After examining the case against carbon trading... the book turns to alternatives, to hope, to sanity, and to the future.' Professor Stefano Harney, Queen Mary, University of London, UK 'Anyone concerned about the future of the planet (is anyone not?) should read this book. The contributors give powerful evidence and argument to show that the carbon trading regimes favoured by the world's elites will not work - and are, indeed, set to make things worse. But the message is not negative. There are alternatives, both effective and desirable.' Professor Ted Benton, University of Essex, UK Steffen Böhm is Reader in Management at Essex Business School, University of Essex, UK. Siddhartha Dabhi is a researcher at Essex Business School, University of Essex, UK.