More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective
In early 2022, over 30 years after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its first report on the challenges posed by climate change and four subsequent Assessment Reports later, the word ‘colonialism’ finally entered its official lexicon. The sixth report on ‘Impacts, Adaptat...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Bristol University Press
2022-10-01
|
| Series: | Global Social Challenges Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1332/EIEM6688 |
| _version_ | 1827579326620499968 |
|---|---|
| author | Bhambra Gurminder K. Newell Peter |
| author_facet | Bhambra Gurminder K. Newell Peter |
| author_sort | Bhambra Gurminder K. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In early 2022, over 30 years after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its first report on the challenges posed by climate change and four subsequent Assessment Reports later, the word ‘colonialism’ finally entered its official lexicon. The sixth report on ‘Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’ references colonialism, not only as a historical driver of the climate crisis, but also as something that continues to exacerbate the vulnerabilities of communities to it (IPCC, 2022). As Funes (2022) argues, this comes in the wake of long-standing arguments made by Indigenous groups and others on the frontline of climate change about the centrality of colonialism to comprehending and responding to the crisis. The last decade has also seen a significant increase in scholarly literature that draws explicit links between colonialism and climate change – much of which is referenced in the latest IPCC report. While formal acknowledgement of this relationship is long overdue, in this article we argue for caution and precision in the invocation of colonialism within these debates. Following Tuck and Yang’s (2012) classic article setting out why ‘decolonization is not a metaphor’, we argue relatedly that colonialism needs to be understood as more than a metaphor in climate change debates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:00:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d071a5732d24b37b88477ca1dc3b16c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2752-3349 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T22:00:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Bristol University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Social Challenges Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d071a5732d24b37b88477ca1dc3b16c2023-12-19T15:33:42ZengBristol University PressGlobal Social Challenges Journal2752-33492022-10-012210.1332/EIEM6688gscj-02-02-179More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspectiveBhambra Gurminder K.0Newell Peter1University of Sussex, UKUniversity of Sussex, UKIn early 2022, over 30 years after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its first report on the challenges posed by climate change and four subsequent Assessment Reports later, the word ‘colonialism’ finally entered its official lexicon. The sixth report on ‘Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’ references colonialism, not only as a historical driver of the climate crisis, but also as something that continues to exacerbate the vulnerabilities of communities to it (IPCC, 2022). As Funes (2022) argues, this comes in the wake of long-standing arguments made by Indigenous groups and others on the frontline of climate change about the centrality of colonialism to comprehending and responding to the crisis. The last decade has also seen a significant increase in scholarly literature that draws explicit links between colonialism and climate change – much of which is referenced in the latest IPCC report. While formal acknowledgement of this relationship is long overdue, in this article we argue for caution and precision in the invocation of colonialism within these debates. Following Tuck and Yang’s (2012) classic article setting out why ‘decolonization is not a metaphor’, we argue relatedly that colonialism needs to be understood as more than a metaphor in climate change debates.https://doi.org/10.1332/EIEM6688climate changecolonialismcapitalismmodernityreparations |
| spellingShingle | Bhambra Gurminder K. Newell Peter More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective Global Social Challenges Journal climate change colonialism capitalism modernity reparations |
| title | More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective |
| title_full | More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective |
| title_fullStr | More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective |
| title_short | More than a metaphor: ‘climate colonialism’ in perspective |
| title_sort | more than a metaphor climate colonialism in perspective |
| topic | climate change colonialism capitalism modernity reparations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1332/EIEM6688 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bhambragurminderk morethanametaphorclimatecolonialisminperspective AT newellpeter morethanametaphorclimatecolonialisminperspective |