Reforesting the Earth through Societal Corporatism: A Natural Climate Solution

Speaker: Tom Rudel, Prof Emeritus, Rutgers University

Abstract: 

The contours of the collective action necessary to limit climate change remain difficult to discern. In this context, corporatist political processes, fueled by crisis narratives, have shown some promise as political devices for facilitating natural climate solutions. Corporatist processes have, historically, brought together political competitors like employers and labor unions within an economic sector to negotiate compacts that have advanced a collective good during times of crisis. In response to the climate crisis, affluent donor groups, indigenous peoples, and state officials have assembled corporatist-like coalitions to pursue natural climate solutions in the form of forest conservation and restoration. Three case studies illustrate this political dynamic, its shortcomings, and its accomplishments.