In pursuit of carbon accountability: the politics of REDD+ measuring, reporting and verification systems

► We review critical social science analyses of REDD+ MRV systems. ► We advance the concept of carbon accountability as a lens into this literature. ► Such systems may simplify complex forest realities and erase local difference. ► Yet they may also mobilize counter-expertise, promote resistance, or be empowering. ► REDD+ MRV systems thus remain a site of political conflict with contingent effects.