As carbon markets and payment for ecosystem services (PES) become central to global climate governance, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) projects are increasingly framed by corporations as effective climate mitigation and development tools. This degree project investigates how major fossil fuel entities construct discursive legitimacy around carbon offsetting, focusing specifically on the Spanish multi-energy corporation Repsol and its REDD+ portfolios in the Peruvian Amazon and the Colombian Pacific regions. Guided by the field of Communication for Development, this study addresses three central inquiries: how corporate actors construct legitimacy around offsetting; how these narratives align or conflict with emerging independent scientific evaluations; and how Indigenous and local community counter-narratives contest these dominant frameworks. The study adopts a qualitative methodological approach combining Critical Discourse Analysis and Narrative Analysis. The empirical corpus includes sustainability reports, public statements, testimonies and Indigenous’ communities public declarations.

The project critically examines communication as a site of power within climate governance. It concludes that carbon offsetting commodifies subaltern ecosystems to maintain fossil fuel hegemony while externalising socio-environmental costs to the Global South. Ultimately, this research contributes new insights to debates on climate justice, development communication, and the politics of sustainability.