Renewables and Carbon Offsets in the Global South: Impacts and Social Conflict (part of Excellence Cluster CLICCS / Phase II)

How do carbon taxes affect African households? Evidence from Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda reveals that domestic carbon pricing is progressive overall, yet low-income households remain vulnerable—unless compensated. Our findings highlight how targeted transfers can offset welfare losses and even reduce poverty.

This policy report analyzes two land deals emblematic of carbon offsetting in Indonesia’s forest sector, assessing whether they deliver mitigation benefits and uphold community engagement and benefit sharing as outlined in standards, project plans, and global frameworks.

A carbon tax will not curb current emissions in sub-Saharan Africa and is unlikely to prevent future carbon lock-in effects. Meanwhile, a carbon tax could hit the poor in this region, thus the international community should be careful in pushing sub-Saharan Africa towards carbon taxation.

This article conceptualises and empirically assesses the socioeconomic and environmental risks of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) for communal lands in the Global South.