Empowering Marginalised Communities Needed To Strengthen Carbon Markets

The climate crisis is a compelling issue facing the marginalised. Its adverse impacts are being felt globally, with increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, changing precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events. However, the effects of the climate crisis are disproportionately impacting marginalised communities, which have contributed the least to the problem.

Carbon markets are fast emerging as a critical mechanism for facilitating global climate action. These markets price carbon to incentivise emissions reduction and channel investment into sustainable solutions. However, marginalised communities often lack access to and agency in these spaces. Empowering them in carbon markets can thus revolutionise climate action by driving inclusivity and social justice.

Disproportionate climate impacts intensify the vulnerabilities of marginalised populations, spanning socioeconomic, gender, ethnicity, age, disability, and migrant status. These communities bear a disproportionate burden.

Indigenous groups face heightened displacement due to floods, while rural women in developing nations grapple with the marginalised effects of desertification on their livelihoods. Despite their critical role in climate solutions, marginalised groups encounter barriers in carbon markets, ranging from awareness gaps and financial constraints to complex regulations and limited capacity.

Language barriers, social discrimination, and geographic remoteness further impede their participation, hindering their ability to shape their well-being. Equity demands urgent and inclusive action.

India holds immense potential for transforming climate action by empowering marginalised rural communities and urban informal settlements within carbon markets. Exemplary projects in India illustrate inclusive models, such as training women self-help groups in the Sunderbans for mangrove restoration and blue carbon credits.