Racial Capitalism, Climate Justice, and Climate Displacement

What is it about?

This article examines the ways that racism pervades the fossil fuel-based capitalist world economy from its origins in slavery and colonialism to the contemporary climate crisis. It argues that climate change cannot be addressed without challenging white supremacy. Communities of color, including those displaced by climate change, are the canaries in the coal mine. They are the first to experience the ravages of climate change, but their plight is a harbinger of the fate that will befall almost all of humanity as the planet becomes increasingly uninhabitable. Racism creates divisions between people whose common vulnerability to climate change should produce solidarity and political mobilization. It constructs Black and Brown communities as expendable, surplus, and unworthy, and perpetuates the illusion that persons classified as White can escape the ravages of climate change by deporting, incarcerating, and otherwise subordinating those constructed as non-White. Focusing on the plight of climate-displaced persons, the article analyzes the ways that the emerging legal frameworks for climate displacement reinforce racism, and examines alternative approaches proposed by climate-vulnerable states and peoples.

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Photo by Alexander Tsang on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Tsang on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This article is a timely introduction to the relationship between climate change and racism. Potentially irreversible climate disruption is having a disproportionate impact on Indigenous peoples and racial and ethnic minorities all over the world. At the same time, protests demanding racial justice are taking place in the United States and far beyond. Yet the link between racism and climate change remains under-explored. This article examines the relationship between these phenomena and the opportunities for alliances and mobilization to create a more just, sustainable, and inclusive world.