ABSTRACT

Carbon offsetting has been beset by problems and failures, and relies on the mobilisation of supportive discourses and knowledge-claims to retain a sense of credibility. Psycho-analytical ideology critique can help explain how these processes interact with questions of subjectivity. Analysis of interviews with carbon offset market practitioners suggests that identification with carbon offsetting is only partial, and that it is sustained through disavowal, through trust in the authority of the Other, and through desire for carbon offsetting’s unrealisable promises. It is important to grapple with the fantasy that sustains carbon offsetting in order to better understand, and indeed contest, its enduring appeal and its continued inclusion in climate governance.

摘要

碳抵消一直受到问题和失败的困扰，依靠支持性话语和知识主张的动员来保持可信度。精神分析意识形态批判可以帮助解释这些过程如何与主观性问题相互作用。对碳抵消市场从业者的采访分析表明，对碳抵消的认同只是部分的，它是通过否认、对他者权威的信任以及对碳抵消无法实现的承诺的渴望来维持的。重要的是要应对维持碳抵消的幻想，以便更好地理解，甚至质疑它的持久吸引力和持续纳入气候治理。