Caractéristiques des fausses solutions à la crise de la biodiversité et aux crises systémiques qui y sont liées

This report by Friends of the Earth International identifies and critiques 'false solutions' to the biodiversity and climate crises, specifically those based on the financialization of nature. The document argues that these mechanisms, such as carbon credits and biodiversity offsets, do not address the root causes of environmental destruction but instead reinforce the dominant capitalist economic system and the power of multinational corporations.

• False solutions rely on the concept of 'compensation,' which allows for the pollution or destruction of one ecosystem as long as a similar area is preserved elsewhere through the purchase of financial titles like carbon credits.
• The report argues that assigning an economic value or price to nature is impossible because it cannot reflect the spiritual, social, and biological complexity of ecosystems, such as the role of ancient trees in a community.
• False solutions lead to the dismantling of environmental legislation by replacing mandatory regulations with voluntary commitments and financial incentives, which allows companies to avoid structural changes to their production methods.
• The financialization of nature creates new markets for 'natural capital,' benefiting multinational corporations and creating a demand for specialized consulting firms to verify and control these mechanisms.
• The document describes a four-phase process of the commodification of nature: first, treating nature as a purchasable object; second, defining nature as a provider of 'services'; third, separating genetic components from organic ones for privatization; and fourth, detaching nature's functions from the physical assets to sell them on financial markets.
• These mechanisms often violate the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, leading to loss of territorial control, forced displacements, and a 'double land grab' where companies own both the land they pollute and the land used for compensation.
• False solutions are presented as highly technical and complex to depoliticize the debate and exclude local populations from discussions, shifting the focus from the causes of destruction to the calculation of 'ecosystem service units.'

APA

Rojas, I. (2020). Caractéristiques des fausses solutions à la crise de la biodiversité et aux crises systémiques qui y sont liées. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Caracteristiques-des-fausses-solutions-a-la-crise-de-la-biodiversite-et-aux-crises-systemiques-qui-y-sont-liees_Amis-de-la-terre-international.pdf

Chicago

Rojas, Isaac. Caractéristiques des fausses solutions à la crise de la biodiversité et aux crises systémiques qui y sont liées. Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Caracteristiques-des-fausses-solutions-a-la-crise-de-la-biodiversite-et-aux-crises-systemiques-qui-y-sont-liees_Amis-de-la-terre-international.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rojas |first1=Isaac |title=Caractéristiques des fausses solutions à la crise de la biodiversité et aux crises systémiques qui y sont liées |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=December 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Caracteristiques-des-fausses-solutions-a-la-crise-de-la-biodiversite-et-aux-crises-systemiques-qui-y-sont-liees_Amis-de-la-terre-international.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rojas2020caractristiques, author = {Rojas, Isaac}, title = {{Caractéristiques des fausses solutions à la crise de la biodiversité et aux crises systémiques qui y sont liées}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Caracteristiques-des-fausses-solutions-a-la-crise-de-la-biodiversite-et-aux-crises-systemiques-qui-y-sont-liees_Amis-de-la-terre-international.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }