How do Carbon Dioxide Removal strategies deliver on justice? Insights from a review of afforestation and reforestation research

While Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and afforestation and reforestation (A/R) in particular have been advanced as mitigation actions which align with global sustainable development and wellbeing goals, however, justice remains under-represented in the policy and academic discourse on A/R impacts. In this paper, we review cases of A/R implementation across 37 different countries to understand their observed impacts. Our findings reveal that while justice is rarely a central objective in A/R implementation research, observed outcomes have profound justice implications. We find that in current, primarily market-based A/R activities, human individuals are likely to receive the most just outcomes and non-human entities the most unjust. We observe that implementing robust institutional mechanisms and adapting to the socio-ecological realities of specific contexts, A/R can deliver just outcomes. Ultimately, for A/R to truly enhance wellbeing, policy must ensure just outcomes for already-marginalised human and non-human communities and nature itself.