A Look into Climate Injustice

The climate crisis, as its whole, is a subject far too broad to be easily explained and understood, in all its impacts and with all the factors that have led to it. While writing this text, my goal was not to provide a comprehensive deconstruction of the current crisis – as I don’t think I can do it accurately –, but rather to alert you of its complexity, of why it’s critical that everyone knows about it, and of how so many voices that carry important truths have been, and are being, denied their space in climate solving.

Like many people in the global north, I started paying attention to climate change because of the threat it poses for biodiversity. I decided, upon choosing the beginning of my career, to be academically trained as a biologist, hoping that, by studying the biosphere, I could figure out how to help. I learned many things and can now interpret the natural world as I never did before, but it took me a while to understand that the climate crisis is not just about biodiversity, and that my perspective is rooted upon my privilege.

What do I mean by this?

Around the globe, climate impacts are felt differently. The countries and communities which have contributed the least for the climate crisis, belonging mostly to the global south and to indigenous communities, are the ones that suffer the worst impacts. In global north, in the so called “industrialized” or “developed” nations, people from different races and genders experience environmental impacts very differently, with light skin and male gendered people having advantages in accessing cleaner and less degraded spaces, healthier food and water, social support, political and economical influence, and more.

The most unfortunate thing, for me, is that this usually comes as a surprise for many of the people I meet, as it came to me, but it has been happening for a long, long, time. The current climate crisis is part of the colonial heritage, and results from a system that was created to explore a vast amount of people, in order to enrich a small number of elites. As a result, the voices of those who are the main victims of the climate crisis, and who should have the most to say about it, are often silenced, with lack of education, recognition, access, support and more, and the pro-climate narrative that’s mainly available stems from white, male, and global north privilege.

There is a climate debt that the global north needs to pay, encompassing the past and present exploitation of global south countries, its historical and cumulative release of greenhouse gases, that stands in the origin of the climate crisis, and the difficulties faced by the global south in terms of adaptation. As you might imagine, it hasn’t been easy to convince the global north of this, as climate denial, double standards, greenwashing, and other obstacles are still in the way.

So… What now?

This is just a little bit of one of the layers of the problem. There are many more. We could have talked about population policies, conflicts, nature conservation, healthcare, nutrition, science used as a political vehicle, the list just goes on. We are living an emergency, and it is very hard to know what to do. I think we can all relate to that feeling of being lost and powerless. But there are already people doing amazing work, and we can contribute too (check some examples below).

In the last four years, I had the opportunity to gain some experience in conservation and environmental education. From the knowledge that I was able to gain, I think there are a few things that might be important to know if you want to start taking action towards change.

Firstly, while individual actions are very valuable, and there is plenty we can do, they cannot stand without collective efforts, via governance agencies, institutions, corporations, and organizations. The idea that only you can make a difference is part of a strategy that aims to deflect the attention from collective entities, especially corporations. This adds up to a sum of strategies that we can classify as greenwashing. If you want to act, you might want to consider making changes not only in your personal life, but also in your professional or citizen life.

Secondly, every community is going to have their own needs when it comes to the climate crisis. There is no one size fits all solution. There have been times in the past where a standardized approach (usually Eurocentric) tried to be applied to different communities without their approval, and it simply didn’t work. So, when wanting to help a certain community, especially if you’re not part of it, you can try to engage in a clear dialogue with its representatives, to find out how you can help, on their terms.

Thirdly, if you carry any type of privilege, understand that taking responsibility is not the same as being blamed. Some activists have taught me that. You might have never wanted to hurt anyone, but some of our behaviors do harm people who don’t live with our privileges, and if we ever want to contribute to fighting the climate crisis, and get any closer to an equal world, we need to address them. A good start could be listening to different voices and seek to unlearn the harmful narratives that we’ve been exposed to, so that you can star creating opportunities for diversity. In short, if you wish to help, you might want to consider learning how to become an ally.

As I wrote in the beginning, the climate crisis is too broad to be easily explained and understood. Although there are many layers and injustices tied to it – and I know there are other privileges that were not covered here –, there are still things we can do, in every sector of society, from education, to law, to tourism. But for whatever we do, let’s make sure we don’t forget about diversity, and that the ones who suffer the most from climate impacts have the right to be part of the solution.

Some Projects, NGOs, and Activists you might want to check out:

- Earthrise Studio: https://www.earthrise.studio/

- Wise Wayz Water Care: https://www.facebook.com/wwwcza/

- Ocean Alive: https://www.ocean-alive.org/

- APIB (Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil): https://apiboficial.org/

- Mafalda Fernandes: @quotidianodeumanegra

- We Both: @webothmovement

- Leave in Peace: @leave__in__peace

- Associação BioLiving: https://www.bioliving.pt/

Joana C. Pereira

Biologist

References

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