Tensions between REDD+ and Climate Justice movements in the West

As climate justice movements in North America have for the past decade held on to a non- negotiable premise of ‘No REDD+’, decrying it as a false climate solution, research that reveals an embracing of REDD+ in various forest communities begs the question of whether there is a need for nuance within the climate justice movement, particularly on the matter of the relationship between Indigenous communities and market-based solutions. A number of issues will be discussed in this paper, including the thorny question of commodification of the commons, questions of Indigenous self-determination and the variety of ways in which they manifest, as well as the question of who represents the Indigenous voice in matters of climate (in)justice and whether a monolithic position is possible. Drawing on empirical field research in the Terai region of Nepal were REDD+ was introduced to community forests in 2018, I discuss the implications and paradoxes of climate mitigation projects for local/Indigenous communities when viewed from a climate justice lens, and offer suggestions to mitigate harm to the most marginalized within these communities.