Performativity in the Green Economy: how far does climate finance create a fictive economy?

Abstract

This paper asks how far performativity in the Green Economy generates material or virtual assets. It examines the relationship between assets and their financial derivatives, asking how far the value of ‘carbon’ or ‘green’ can be directly attributed to its social and narrative construction. The paper draws on two case studies – one of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in South Africa, the other of the global private green bonds market – to show that both public and private climate finance can generate virtual economic activity co-produced by processes of social valuation and accumulation proper. How reliant is the Green Economy on actual economic activity?