Green Generosity? Land Donations and Elite Influence on Climate Governance

Hanna Doose

As the global climate and ecological crises intensify, land-use is ever more recognized as playing an important role in climate change mitigation. Far-reaching control and use rights for landowners mean that this group, especially large wealthy landowners, are pivotal in shaping land-use-related climate protection measures. Some of those landowners, seemingly motivated by environmental concerns and distinctive imaginaries on how to solve them, choose to donate their land to public or private conservation efforts, relinquishing a highly valuable asset. This research project seeks to understand why some of these super-wealthy landowners opt to forego the financial value and long-term control over their landed asset. Furthermore, it intends to examine how these decisions influence power relations and democratic processes in climate governance. Using a qualitative research design, this project will first develop a typology of land-use-related private conservation initiatives. It will then conduct a comparative case study, relying on semi-structured interviews with landowners, policymakers, and conservation organizations. Bridging research on wealth, inequality, and environmental governance, this project contributes to the growing literature on elite influence in climate policy.