A Peruvian Reducing Emissions on My Behalf: Representation of the Stove User for a

Regulatory carbon markets are one manifestation of international climate change negotiations. Their implementation requires the state intervention at different levels. On the margin of the regulatory market, the voluntary market has developed under which certain standards set claimed ambitious criteria for sustainable development. Such standards govern a commodity of a new kind: carbon credits. The standards have ambiguous relations with the state and put at stake the notion of government. As such, they question the ability to govern sustainability from the private sector.

In my PhD, I analyze the case of a carbon certification programme for improved cookstoves implemented since 2008 in Peru. The standard used is the Gold Standard carbon and sustainable development certification framework. The approach is pluri-disciplinary and accounts for the impact of projects on indigenous communities, the making of and architecture of the chain of actors under the voluntary carbon market and the political economy of carbon offsets.

For this presentation I will look at how the carbon offsets resulting from this value chain are sold to the final consumer. In particular, I will be interested in how Peruvian stove users are pictured in the process. The underlying question is whether the adequate representation of an environmental issue is key in mobilizing offseters. Building on the analysis of various offseters, I will show that the understanding of the Peruvian context is very different for them a is their commitment to reduce emission before offsetting. The presentation will provide insight on the current use of carbon offsetting as a corporate social responsibility  practice.