Racism and Climate (In)Justice

How have racism and colonialism contributed to creating the climate crisis; how have they shaped the response to it; and why is the crisis hitting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPoC) the hardest? The framing paper addresses these questions through a broad framing of the complex historical and empirical realities that show that colonialism and racism have played an integral part in shaping, and continue to shape, climate change and climate policy to this day.

It shows (I) how colonialism and racism have enabled climate change, (II) how colonialism and racism have shaped climate policy and action, and (III) how racialized communities are disproportionately impacted by climate change within countries. It also suggests (IV) ways to urgently decolonize movements, institutions through a deep cultural change, as well as undertake structural and institutional reforms to address institutional racism at scale. The paper demonstrates that there can be no climate justice without racial justice, and that a clear, deep and empirically grounded understanding of the many links between those two types of injustices is essential to addressing both.

The paper analyses the ways in which international climate governance continues to be steered by countries in the Global North – countries that fail to acknowledge their historical climate and development debts.

What is more, countries in the Global North are not actively pursuing the 1.5℃ target nor are they meeting their financial commitments to developing countries to support adaptation, as well as efforts to address loss and damage from the impacts of climate change and to ensure access to quality and affordable energy for all. Meanwhile, the climate crisis disproportionately affects BIPoC communities worldwide, with Indigenous Peoples, migrant communities and other racialized communities, particularly women, being the hardest hit.

The framing paper shows the effects of the dominance of the Global North in United Nations-led processes, in multilateral and bilateral organizations, as well as in the climate movement. These effects show up in the prioritization, design, and coordination of climate change projects implemented in the Global South. They are also evident in current inclusion practices which often lead to the tokenization of BIPoC, and in the constraints they face in assuming leadership positions, particularly on the international scene. Mainstream representation of BIPoC as “victims of climate change,” or as beneficiaries of projects, also negates their roles as knowledge holders, innovators and leaders. Institutional racism materializes in the silencing or denial of racism by those who are working with or “for” BIPoC communities, both in the Global North and the Global South, which can be related both to vested interests and collective trauma.

Eliminating racism in climate policy and action requires individual and institutional coordination of multilevel response that would entail:

• Acknowledging the history and legacy of colonialism in climate policy and action.
• Facilitating a deep cultural change within institutions and organizations based in the Global North and questioning current inclusion practices in order to foster the actual participation and engagement of diverse BIPoC.
• Addressing specific disproportionate harms wrought by climate and environmental racism and sexism through enforcement of human rights obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as well as under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
• Taking different perspectives and diverse world views into account and accepting multiple realities and ways of solving the climate crisis beyond the Global North’s perspectives.
• Facilitating research into the specific dynamics, manifestations and disparate impacts of racism, resistance and pathways to empowerment in environmental and climate policy, the global climate regime and climate activism that centers BIPoC perspectives, and is informed by BIPoC epistemologies and methodologies, that is: ways of knowing and doing research.

The drafting of this framing paper was supported by the Heinrich Böll-Stiftung Washington, DC. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Stiftung or its partner organizations.

March 21 2021: Launch of Paper on How Racism and Colonialism Shape the Climate Crisis and Climate Action

A team composed mostly of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPoC) policy scholars and climate advocates have produced a paper titled ”Racism and Climate (In)Justice - How Racism and Colonialism Shape the Climate Crisis and Climate Action. The paper is launched on March 21 to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Racism and climate change have been intertwined since their inception, and both colonial continuities and hierarchies continue to determine climate policy and action. The two crises can only be addressed in tandem - and current climate governance fails to do so. This is one of the key points of the paper, which also argues that the lack of action to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change can be traced to the fact that it overwhelmingly affects BIPoC.

These are “critical issues that must be addressed,” said Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development. He adds: “The manifest injustice of climate change and the fact that the least responsible are most vulnerable to its impacts has racist overtones linked to the legacy of colonialism.”

The intersection of racism and gender inequality further marginalize BIPoC women and non-binary people. According to Paulette Blanchard, Indigenous feminist and Diversity and Inclusion Fellow at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, “the continued violence imposed on Indigenous People, especially indigenous women, is the apathy of the population and their lack of accountability and recognition of the largest crime against humanity.”

According to Commercial Law Advocate Tselane Makhesi-Wilkinson “genuine equality and diversity is our most effective weapon in the global fight against the climate crisis. Now is the time to unequivocally incorporate the as yet unconsidered values, knowledge and intellect processed by BIPoC and minority groups.”

The paper calls for research into the specific dynamics, manifestations and disparate impacts of racism, resistance and pathways to empowerment in environmental and climate policy, the global climate regime and climate activism that centers BIPoC perspectives and is informed by BIPoC epistemologies and methodologies.

“We need to enrich the climate change debate with options derived from societies from the Global South,”says Olumide Abimbola, Executive Director of APRI – Africa Policy Research institute.

“This is why APRI is partnering with the Global Partnership Network at the University of Kassel and Earthlife Africa based in Johannesburg to conduct research on racism and empowerment in climate negotiation,” he adds.

For more information contact Olumide Abimbola, Executive Director of the APRI - African Policy Research Institute, at:

E: office@afripoli.org

T: @loomnie