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The coloniality of climate change

8 May 2025

This blog post is a slightly amended version of a presentation delivered by Jessica Brown in May 2025. 

‘Climate justice, social justice and racial justice are all interconnected’ – Veronica Mulenga1

Before starting this piece, I would like to recognise my positionality as a 26-year-old cis white woman, born and raised in the United Kingdom, with a university education. I acknowledge the privilege I hold as a result of these identities, and strive to be aware of my biases.

‘Racial injustice and climate injustice are both rooted in the evil notion that some lives are more important than others’ – David Lammy6

We are all aware of the growing impacts of climate change, but what I see discussed less is the intersection of colonialism, racism and climate change. The above quotes from Veronica Mulenga, a Zambian climate activist, and David Lammy, a politician, were central in my inspiration for this project. Many other people have written about this topic much more effectively and insightfully than I can, and I have tried to centre the voices of people of colour throughout this work – a full list of references and cited resources can be found below. My aim is that this piece can be a jumping off point for you to engage with other literature and media, particularly resources available at iniva’s Stuart Hall Library.

Last week, in early May 2025, large areas of Western Europe had a power cut that lasted for about 10 hours10. To be honest, I was amazed that there wasn’t more alarm and fear in the face of this.

People were unable to use transportation systems, emergency services couldn’t run properly, electronic payment systems wouldn’t work, and people were also unable to withdraw cash using ATMs. I have found it hard to reckon with how reliant we have become on electricity and internet connection until an event like this really spelled it out.

But how does this relate to climate change? For me, what is relevant is how it brings to the fore the essential reminder to reconsider how we live our lives. What are we reliant on? How are our ways of living impacting the world around us, and the people around us?

Climate change does, and will, affect us all. But, systemic racism and colonial history means that the impacts are disproportionately experienced. The Global North is responsible for 92% of all excess global emissions5 – but those in the Global South are significantly more likely to be affected by impacts of climate change such as extreme weather1. Although it may be important to move away from notions of ‘blame’ relating to climate change6, this does not mean that we should ignore the history and structural inequality entrenched in emission contributions and habitat destruction.

An example of this can be seen in one of the most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2021, in Zambia, where the average personal carbon footprint is less than a tenth of the UK average1. Zambia has experienced sustained weather changes, worsened by climate change and the El Niño effect, resulting in an extended drought between 2018 and 2021 and causing dire food shortages. Not only that, but another drought is now ongoing2, which has also resulted in increasing electricity blackouts, caused by a high reliance on hydro-electric power – a source which is now patchy due to the severely reduced rainfall. As a result, the Zambian government feel that building another coal power plant may be the best course of action, to ensure a more secure electricity supply3.

There are many instances that elucidate the ways in which white supremacy is entrenched in our capitalist economic structure. People of colour in the UK are more than 50% more likely to be in fuel poverty than their white neighbours (and all the while, companies with colonial histories, such as BP and Shell, continue to grow their profit)7.  The scale of Australian bushfires has been proven to have been exacerbated by the colonial displacement of Indigenous peoples and the disruption of their land management practices9. The ‘12 years’ deadline for climate action that the IPCC has suggested ignores the impacts already being felt by people in the Global South8.  As Asad Rehman explains, ‘our economic system has at its core this notion that, in the pursuit of capital accumulation and profit, some people can be sacrificed, and that has overwhelmingly been people in the Global South’1. In order to truly work against climate change, we must look outside of our ‘carbon footprints’, our consumption habits and our energy sources, and work towards justice across all areas of life and society.

Colonialism established the extractive economic system which we still see today, as well as the exploitation of nature, the Earth and destruction of the natural order of biodiversity that continue to be perpetrated. The current flow of wealth is in many ways still a reflection of history and empire, with resources continuing to be extracted, and environments continuing to be destroyed. Even mitigations such as carbon offsetting are still entrenched in colonial practices – using land in the Global South to enable the ‘cancelling-out’ of carbon emissions which are predominantly a result of the Global North7. Really, the expectation that any land can potentially be used as ‘dumping ground’ is rooted in colonialism.

We should however remember that the Earth was here before us, and will be here after us – the Earth doesn’t need us to ‘save’ it, and this narrative echoes concepts used to dehumanise people of colour for centuries8. Instead of perpetuating this idea, we should be working to change our mindset and lifestyle in order to live harmoniously with nature. Amplifying the words of those experiencing racial injustice and the impacts of climate degradation will also allow us to consider how we can change our way of living to give nature the space to breathe again.

As discussed in ‘Dear Earth: Art and Hope in a Time of Crisis’ (which is available at the Stuart Hall Library), art can help us to realise that nature is greater than art. I would encourage you to engage with the resources available at Stuart Hall Library, to become informed, angry, motivated, inspired, and hopeful.

Biography

Jessica Brown is currently studying for an MA in Library & Information Studies at UCL, with a strong passion for accessibility and community outreach in libraries. With a background in Social Anthropology, she’s previously worked in a university library and volunteered with cultural spaces like the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester.

Her MA research explores how communities connect with public libraries today, and how libraries can remain relevant and inclusive in modern society. During her time with us, Jess is diving into art librarianship, critical librarianship, and ways to deepen engagement with library resources.

References

  1. Williams, J. (2022) Why climate change is inherently racist, BBC Future. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220125-why-climate-change-is-inherently-racist (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  2. Al Jazeera (2024) Zambia declares national disaster after drought devastates agriculture, Al Jazeera. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/29/zambia-declares-national-disaster-after-drought-devastates-agriculture (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  3. Gondwe, K. (2024) How a mega dam has caused a mega power crisis for Zambia, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2krr137x9o (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  4. Earthjustice (2022) ‘Mapping the Coal Ash Contamination’, Earthjustice, 3 November. Available at: https://earthjustice.org/feature/coal-ash-contaminated-sites-map (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  5. Hickel, J. (2020) ‘Quantifying national responsibility for climate breakdown: an equality-based attribution approach for carbon dioxide emissions in excess of the planetary boundary’, The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(9), pp. e399–e404. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30196-0.
  6. Filby, H. (2020) ‘No Climate Justice Without Racial Justice’, The Carbon Literacy Project, 4 October. Available at: https://carbonliteracy.com/no-climate-justice-without-racial-justice/ (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  7. Kapoor, A., Youssef, N. and Hood, S. (2022) Confronting Injustice: Racism and the Environmental Emergency, Runnymede Trust. Available at: https://www.runnymedetrust.org//publications/confronting-injustice-racism-and-the-environmental-emergency (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  8. Ibrahim, Z. (no date) Why climate change is a racist issue, SOS-UK. Available at: https://www.sos-uk.org/post/why-climate-change-is-a-racist-issue (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  9. Mercer, H. (2022) Colonialism: why leading climate scientists have finally acknowledged its link with climate change, The Conversation. Available at: http://theconversation.com/colonialism-why-leading-climate-scientists-have-finally-acknowledged-its-link-with-climate-change-181642 (Accessed: 9 May 2025).
  10. Brezar, A. and Skopeliti, C. (2025) Spain, Portugal and parts of France hit by massive power outage, Euronews. Available at: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/04/28/spain-portugal-and-parts-of-france-hit-by-massive-power-outage (Accessed: 9 May 2025).