Extract C: Carbon Offsetting, Food Security, and the Environment

• Some development economists argue that the conversion of arable land into commercial forestry for carbon offsets, driven by the global rush for corporate carbon neutrality, is a major cause of localized food insecurity and rising food inflation in several developing nations. (Lines 1–3)
• According to a global food security think-tank, the climate policies of multi-national corporations and high-income countries have incentivized speculative land acquisitions, displacing traditional farming and pushing thousands of small-scale farmers into poverty while doing little to permanently reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases. (Lines 4–7)
• The report criticized high-income nations for offering tax breaks and carbon-offset subsidies that encourage financial firms to acquire agricultural land for monetization through monoculture tree plantations rather than local food production. This has been described by some critics as 'green grabbing' that threatens regional food sovereignty and destroys rural livelihoods. (Lines 8–12)
• However, advocates of carbon-credit markets, including some governments in the Global South, argue that these investments bring crucial capital inflow and infrastructure. The demand for carbon offsets provides rural communities with steady, long-term credit revenues, transforming marginal land into a sustained source of income and employment. (Lines 13–16)

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'Some development economists argue that the conversion of arable land into commercial forestry for carbon offsets... is a major cause of localized food insecurity and rising food inflation...' (Extract C, lines 1–3).