About Carbon Justice 101
Carbon Justice 101: A Self-Paced Online Course for Grassroots Justice Advocates
We’re excited to invite you to take Carbon Justice 101 a self-paced, online course created by and for members of the Grassroots Justice Network.
Across the Grassroots Justice Network, hundreds of frontline communities have suddenly found themselves in the middle of carbon projects and don’t know how to navigate them. In response, the Grassroots Justice Network has co-created this course with network members to equip learners with the key language about nature-based carbon projects and help them learn from successful efforts to support community rights at the community, national, and global levels.
How to enrol for this course
The course is open for enrolment now and goes on until October 15, 2025.
If you are not a member of the Grassroots Justice Network, join the network for free to access the course.
Once you’re registered, you can join the course here!
What will you learn?
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Explain the basic terms and key actors involved in carbon projects using your own words;
- Define the Carbon Justice Principles and articulate how they apply to different scenarios at the community, national, and global levels. When relevant, be able to begin planning for how to apply those principles in your context;
- Share how to use legal empowerment techniques to address carbon justice through case study analysis and reflection;
- Be inspired by the action of others and motivated to connect with peers facing similar carbon justice challenges
Who is this course for?
This course is designed by and for grassroots justice advocates responding to carbon projects in their communities. A grassroots justice advocate is someone who helps the community to use legal empowerment – know, use, and shape law – to respond to injustices and advocate for fair laws and policies. Seasoned grassroots justice advocates who are new to carbon projects or those who are familiar with carbon projects but want to understand more how communities are impacted may benefit from the course.
How long will this course take?
The course has five modules and will will take about 15-20 hours to complete. The course will be open from August 11, 2025 to September 30, 2025 and can be taken at your own pace. We encourage you to take a few hours every week to complete the course on time.
What are the main contents of the course?
The course has five modules:
Module 1: What do carbon projects have to do with justice?
With the available case studies, legal empowerment cycle, and resources, you will describe the positive and negative impacts of carbon projects for communities and explain how legal empowerment strategies can support carbon justice, including the carbon justice principles.
Module 2: What are Carbon Markets?
You will explain the key terms, processes, and actors of carbon markets and practice communicating about carbon markets clearly and accessibly
Module 3: What Does it Mean to Have Just Carbon Projects at the Community Level
Learning from the latest research and practitioners in the middle of negotiations, you will learn to apply the Carbon Justice Principles to a scenario about community carbon negotiations, incorporating community rights and gendered impacts
Module 4: What does it mean to have a just national carbon policy?
You will hear from those actively trying to influence national carbon legislation to learn how to apply the Carbon Justice Principles to a scenario about national legislation, incorporating community rights and gendered impacts.
Module 5: What does it mean to have a just global carbon policy?
Case studies of how communities have used global rules to protect their rights and how they have rallied together to change global rules will help you learn how you can use the Carbon Justice Principles to navigate global policy and protect your community.