Earth for Sale: The Fight to Stop the Last Plunder of the Planet

by Maude Barlow

Most agree on the urgent need for climate action, yet we are often divided on how to stop the destruction of the natural world. Earth for Sale exposes the danger of governments giving over this responsibility to powerful private interests, namely the same energy, chemical, agribusiness, and bottled water corporations that brought us to this ecological brink.


Their answer? Put a price on nature and bring it into the market. Under the inviting language of “nature-based solutions” and “ecosystem services,” this financialization and commodification of nature takes many carbon trading; debt-for-nature swaps; water pollution trading; biodiversity credits; green, blue, and wildlife conservation bonds; plastics offsets; water futures; and more.


Renowned activist Maude Barlow, who sounded the alarm decades ago on the corporate assault on water, argues the financialization of nature is dangerous and surprisingly few understand the implications, including many in environmental movements. With detailed examples and meticulous research, Earth for Sale unmasks this insidious new form of corporate plunder. We must not allow the movement to protect nature and biodiversity to be handed over to private interests whose driving motive is, and always has been, profit.

Genres: Nonfiction, Environment

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 5, 2026

About the author

Maude Barlow is the bestselling author of 20 books. She sits on the board of Food & Water Watch, the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, and is a counselor with the World Future Council. She served as senior water advisor to the UN General Assembly and was a leader in the campaign to have water recognized as a human right. She is the recipient of fourteen honorary doctorates, the Right Livelihood Award and is the current chancellor of Brescia University. She lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

Reviews

[Paige (pagebypaigebooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It’s clear that the climate and biodiversity crises will not be solved by mimicking the growth-obsessed, profit-dominated strategies of the financial markets. The revolution we need will not come from the natural world being bought, sold, or traded.”

I'd like to thank ECW Press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I've also posted this review on Instagram and my blog.

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This was a very informative read! With my educational background in biology and sustainability, I found that this book did a great job of explaining and analyzing how many corporations commodify nature. I appreciated that Barlow examined various current events and news that are majorly impacting the planet today. Additionally, I learned many shocking facts about not only the history of nature commodification but also the possibilities for the future. I enjoyed the many real-world examples used to explain each concept. I would recommend this to those already familiar with basic terms involving the financial environmental space, as it does cover a variety of topics. The numerous resources in the notes space are a great starting point for further reading and expanding your knowledge base. I look forward to reading more of Maude Barlow's work in the future!

[Paul Daniel]

Earth For Sale: The Fight To Stop The Last Plunder of the Planet by Maude Barlow is a cri de coeur to people to defend the environment. More specifically, it is a passionate call by the author to stop the corporate consumption or "financialization" of Earth's valuable resources. As the title proclaims, all of Earth's resources like land and water, especially water, are being sold off. Ms. Barlow is providing a five-alarm warning to what is happening. "The problem with the financialization of nature, regardless of the extent of its perpetration, is the framework it represents --that nature can best be protected by taking away from government and communities and bringing it into the market economy where it will compete to survive," writes Barlow. The author provides a litany of actual cases where corporations are confiscating land in many countries, affecting poor and/or Indigenous populations. For example, the Indigenous people of the Batékê Plateau, in the Republic of Congo were displaced to make way for a carbon offsetting tree planting project of oil giant TotalEnergies. A project that takes up 40,000 hectare. Ms. Barlow spends considerable time explaining how carbon credits as a practice have failed. She exposes the links some environmental groups have with corporations in what are cleverly disguised "greenwashing" projects. This and similar projects are happening around the world, as well as Canada. Corporate power seems almost as formidable as political power. While readers may find this situation dire, Ms. Barlow still believes there is still hope. She calls on concerned citizens to make their voices heard. She asks that they call upon political leaders to have the courage to stand up for the environment. Ms. Barlow has written a powerful book. Her research is impressive. She provides excellent footnotes for her claims. Highly recommended. Earth for Sale: The Fight to Stop The Last Plunder of the Planet by Maude Barlow is also available to blind and partially-sighted readers in accessible formats from the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) in Canada.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The financialization of nature is a dangerous development…This book sounds the alarm on this insidious new form of corporate plunder. from Earth for Sale by Maude Barlow

Under the guise of environmental protection, natural resources have been commodified, corporations and governments profiting from buying and selling natural resources, the “solutions” they purport to offer merely adding to problems.

One example of how business is plundering the Earth is from my home state: Nestle’ bottles our water and have left an entire watershed drained. Now communities are protesting the creation of AI centers with their massive need for water. Privatization of water rights leaves locals without local water resources.

We have exploited our natural resources and destroyed habitats and species for profit. Resulting problems like water scarcity and climate change will impact us all.

Endeavors to protect and wisely use our resources are threatened by President Trump’s reactionary policies. Even environmental organizations have accepted donations from corporations and fossil fuel companies.

At the same time, Indigenous peoples are leading an awakening, teaching their traditional relationship with nature.

Do forests and rivers and animals have rights? South African environment and human rights lawyer Cormac Cullinan believes that future generations see our relationship with nature as a form of slavery!

Barlow’s well researched argument is sobering and frightening. But she knows that humankind has survived terrible times and believes there is hope. She concludes by offering a way forward.

Thanks to ECW Press for a free book.

[STEPHEN PLETKO!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

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A DEEP SURVEY OF THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF GREEN CAPITALISM

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"This book is about a new iteration of an old problem: the destruction of our planet--its rivers, forests, soil, and air--by those seeking to profit from its exploitation."

The above (in italics) comes from this eye-opening book by Maude Barlow. She is the bestselling author of 21 books. Barlow sits on the board of "Food & Water Watch" and the board of advisors of the "Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature." She is the recipient of 17 honorary doctorates and many awards.

This book presents a deeply researched and urgent critique of the corporate commodification or financialization of nature. Barlow exposes how green capitalism (preserving existing capitalism by addressing environmental catastrophe) attempts to solve the climate emergency by putting a prize tag on natural resources. That is, bring nature into the market, put a price tag on it, and let the market (not governments) guide the process to solve the climate crisis.

As well, this book details dangerous market mechanisms arguing that using these mechanisms and giving ecological control to profit oriented corporations will accelerate plunder of the planet.

Finally, nothing in this book is sugar-coated. If you want this, look elsewhere.

In conclusion, this book sounds the alarm on an insidious new form of corporate plunder: the financialization of nature for profit.

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(2026; introduction; 4 chapters; afterword; main narrative 185 pages; acknowledgements; notes [28 pages of them!!]; index)

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[Mike Broderick · Rating 1 out of 5]

No…..
Not because I don’t believe there is a climate crisis.
Not because money isn’t the reason for climate change

This is a hard no, because there will be five star ratings from people who will sit cozy in their air conditioned homes, in their cars, lazy people who will drive 2km instead of walking.

I cannot handle hypocrisy……there is a lot of it in this space.

[MARC L'ESPERANCE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book from Maude Barlow. The current ecological crisis the world experiencing is largely attributable to the commodification of nature, and the lack of proper regulation (due to the capture of government by corporations and the rich). The rights of people for a healthy environment is a path to counter this environmental destruction.

[Anita · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

I’m giving this five stars because I think this is a must read. It’s a hard read. None of us are doing enough, which is why we’re in this trouble. Maude is just the person we need to wake us up. Conservation areas are under funded .AI data centers, water pollution , of widespread reliance on bottled water ,carbon trading. The list goes on. Access to water and sanitation are fundamental human rights that we’re moving so far away from that we need people like Maude to get us back on track. I admit I feel a sense of hopelessness. I know I am not doing enough but I choose to believe it’s not too late. I am glad I own this book because I’m gonna be going back to this time and again . I’ll certainly be lending this to friends and family who also want to become more educated.