Photo by Steve Johnson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the reality of the climate crisis threatens life as we know it, it\u2019s time to question where the real blame lies.<\/p>\n The climate crisis is a daunting prospect, one which feels overwhelmingly out of our control. And for good reason. As global warming accelerates, scientists have established a temperature rise cap of 1.5C, marking a point of no return. Yet despite this stark warning, our current trajectory is projected to a global temperature rise of 2.5C by the end of the century [1]<\/a>. Our world is about to look drastically different, with countries already suffering from devastating natural disasters. But while famine, floods and wildfires dominate the news, the reality is that these impacts are not felt in the same way across the world. There is extreme inequality in the distribution of responsibility and suffering when it comes to climate change. Yet those in power continue to push blame onto the individual consumer and more outrageously, migrants.<\/p>\n Climate change acts as a threat multiplier [2]<\/a> to migration. Direct impacts are seen in destruction of habitat, while indirect impacts exacerbate other causes of displacement, such as increasing poverty and straining access to resources. The result is a choice between moving or dying. The EPRS reported that, \u2018Since 2008, over 376 million people have been displaced as a result of climate disasters.\u2019 [3]<\/a> It\u2019s predicted that this number will continue to rise.<\/p>\n Despite being overwhelmingly responsible for the crisis, governments and powerful businesses resort to scapegoat the people bearing the brunt of destructive consequences. This is evident in the emergence of the political discourse, \u2018Ecobordering\u2019 [4]<\/a> which seeks to blame migrants for environmental degradation. They are presented as a drain on resources and unwilling to protect the natural world [5]<\/a>. The president of the National Front, Marine Le Pen utlised this rhetoric in her 2019 campaign, by advocating that, \u201cEnvironmentalism [is] the natural child of patriotism\u2026 if you\u2019re a nomad, you\u2019re not an environmentalist. Those who are nomadic \u2026 do not care about the environment; they have no homeland.\u201d [6]<\/a> This attempt to demonise and isolate migrants has seeped into the current US election. Trump spits that \u2018those seeking refuge and survival [are] savages, animals, horrible people occupying America, invading it.\u2019 [7]<\/a><\/p>\n Despite efforts to distort blame, the reality is that the main instigators of climate change are wealthy people, living in wealthy countries. The Guardian reports that, \u2018The richest 1% of humanity is responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66%\u2019 [8]<\/a>. John Urry elaborates on this terrifying statistic in his article, \u2018Sociology and Climate Change\u2019 [9]<\/a>. He explores how capitalism has morphed into a monster of excessive production, hugely contributing to the Global North\u2019s disproportionate carbon consumption that pushes us further down the road of irreversible climate change. This treadmill of production we perpetuate with our addictive consumption and travel habits is completely unsustainable in the exploitation of our finite environment: \u201cThere may be much less movement chosen for connoisseurship and to establish co presence, and much more to escape heat, flooding, drought and extreme weather events. Climate change will, it seems, generate tens of millions of \u2018environmental refugees\u2019 sweeping around the world and scratching to get inside one or other set of gates before they get shut for good.\u201d\u00a0[10]<\/a><\/p>\n The migration crisis is a twisted yet perfect example of the destructive relationship between capitalism and climate change- one that is defined by the Ecological Unequal Exchange Theory. This demonstrates the systematic stripping of resource from global South to North and its consequences: a dangerous power imbalance. While powerful nations are enabled to reap the rewards of their unsustainable living, the Global South are the first to pay the price. And one of the highest costs is displacement. The loss of homes and destruction of lives.<\/p>\n Exploitation, fascism and capitalism are inseparably tied to global warming. We cannot expect to fight the climate crisis alone, it exists in a larger battle for equality and humanity. There are people to blame for this mess, and it\u2019s certainly not it\u2019s victims. In the same way that the elite are united in influencing harmful policy and deflecting blame, we need to unite to tackle the crisis that will inevitably affect us all. By building the resilience of communities most vulnerable to climate change and forcing those in power to be held accountable for exploitation and scapegoating, we can begin to address climate change as the root cause of displacement, not the other way round.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Footnotes:<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> 1Martha Henriques, BBC Earth, \u2018Climate change: The 1.5C threshold explained\u2019 (2024) https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20231130-climate-crisis-the-15c-global-warming-threshold-explained<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> 2Kristy Siegfried, UNHCR, \u2018Climate change and displacement: the myths and the facts\u2019 (2023) https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/uk\/news\/stories\/climate-change-and-displacement-myths-and-facts<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> The European Parliamentary Research Service, \u2018The concept of climate refugee\u2019 (2023) https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/RegData\/etudes\/BRIE\/2021\/698753\/EPRS_BRI(2021)698753_EN.pdf<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> 4Joe Turner & Dan Bailey \u2018Eco bordering: casting immigration control as environmental protection, Environmental Politics\u2019 (2022) https:\/\/eprints.whiterose.ac.uk\/188060\/1\/09644016.2021.pdf<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> ibid<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Oliver Milman, The Guardian, \u2018Climate denial is waning on the right. What\u2019s replacing it might be just as scary\u2019 (2021) https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2021\/nov\/21\/climate-denial-far-right immigration#:~:text=What’s%20replacing%20it%20might%20be%20just%20as%20scary, This%20article%20is&text=Standing%20in%20front%20of,fall%20of%20the%20Roman%20empire.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Eve Ensler, The Guardian, \u2018Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden: the ultimate daddy projection screen\u2019, (2024) https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2024\/oct\/29\/trump-msg-v<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> 8Jonathan Watts, The Guardian, \u2018Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%\u2019, (2023) https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2023\/nov\/20\/richest-1-account-for-more-carbon-emissions-than poorest-66-report-says#:~:text=10%20months%20old ,Richest%201%25%20account%20for%20more%20carbon,than%20poorest%2066%25%2C%20report%20says& text=The%20richest%201%25%20of%20humanity,climate%20emergency%2C%20a%20report%20says.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> 9John Urry, \u2018Sociology and Climate Change\u2019 (2009) https:\/\/journals-sagepub-com.manchester.idm.oclc.org\/doi\/epub\/10.1111\/j.1467-954X.2010.01887.x<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> John Urry, \u2018Sociology and Climate Change\u2019 (2009) https:\/\/journals-sagepub-com.manchester.idm.oclc.org\/doi\/epub\/10.1111\/j.1467-954X.2010.01887.x<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=”3.0.106″ in_same_term=”off” show_prev=”on” show_next=”on” prev_text=”Previous” next_text=”Next” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.0.106″ show_avatar=”on” show_reply=”on” show_count=”on” background_layout=”light” header_font_size_tablet=”51″ header_line_height_tablet=”2″ custom_button=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_use_icon=”off” locked=”on” parent_locked=”off” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” 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use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” module_class=”contact-us” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n +44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Find Us Title” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_text_color=”#ffffff” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Address” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” module_id=”address” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]<\/p>\n The University of Manchester [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Connect Title” global_parent=”380″ background_layout=”dark” text_text_color=”#ffffff” parent_locked=”off” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Social Media” global_parent=”380″ parent_locked=”off” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/ul>\n [\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Article by\u00a0Lucy Douglas Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash As the reality of the climate crisis threatens life as we know it, it\u2019s time to question where the real blame lies. The climate crisis is a daunting prospect, one which feels overwhelmingly out of our control. And for good reason. As global warming accelerates, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1193,"featured_media":4716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Article by\u00a0Lucy Douglas<\/strong><\/p> Photo by Steve Johnson<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> As the reality of the climate crisis threatens life as we know it, it\u2019s time to question where the real blame lies.<\/p> The climate crisis is a daunting prospect, one which feels overwhelmingly out of our control. And for good reason. As global warming accelerates, scientists have established a temperature rise cap of 1.5C, marking a point of no return. Yet despite this stark warning, our current trajectory is projected to a global temperature rise of 2.5C by the end of the century [1]<\/a>. Our world is about to look drastically different, with countries already suffering from devastating natural disasters. But while famine, floods and wildfires dominate the news, the reality is that these impacts are not felt in the same way across the world. There is extreme inequality in the distribution of responsibility and suffering when it comes to climate change. Yet those in power continue to push blame onto the individual consumer and more outrageously, migrants.<\/p> Climate change acts as a threat multiplier [2]<\/a> to migration. Direct impacts are seen in destruction of habitat, while indirect impacts exacerbate other causes of displacement, such as increasing poverty and straining access to resources. The result is a choice between moving or dying. The EPRS reported that, \u2018Since 2008, over 376 million people have been displaced as a result of climate disasters.\u2019 [3]<\/a> It\u2019s predicted that this number will continue to rise.<\/p> Despite being overwhelmingly responsible for the crisis, governments and powerful businesses resort to scapegoat the people bearing the brunt of destructive consequences. This is evident in the emergence of the political discourse, \u2018Ecobordering\u2019 [4]<\/a> which seeks to blame migrants for environmental degradation. They are presented as a drain on resources and unwilling to protect the natural world [5]<\/a>. The president of the National Front, Marine Le Pen utlised this rhetoric in her 2019 campaign, by advocating that, \u201cEnvironmentalism [is] the natural child of patriotism\u2026 if you\u2019re a nomad, you\u2019re not an environmentalist. Those who are nomadic \u2026 do not care about the environment; they have no homeland.\u201d [6]<\/a> This attempt to demonise and isolate migrants has seeped into the current US election. Trump spits that \u2018those seeking refuge and survival [are] savages, animals, horrible people occupying America, invading it.\u2019 [7]<\/a><\/p> Despite efforts to distort blame, the reality is that the main instigators of climate change are wealthy people, living in wealthy countries. The Guardian reports that, \u2018The richest 1% of humanity is responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 66%\u2019 [8]<\/a>. John Urry elaborates on this terrifying statistic in his article, \u2018Sociology and Climate Change\u2019 [9]<\/a>. He explores how capitalism has morphed into a monster of excessive production, hugely contributing to the Global North\u2019s disproportionate carbon consumption that pushes us further down the road of irreversible climate change. This treadmill of production we perpetuate with our addictive consumption and travel habits is completely unsustainable in the exploitation of our finite environment: \u201cThere may be much less movement chosen for connoisseurship and to establish co presence, and much more to escape heat, flooding, drought and extreme weather events. Climate change will, it seems, generate tens of millions of \u2018environmental refugees\u2019 sweeping around the world and scratching to get inside one or other set of gates before they get shut for good.\u201d\u00a0[10]<\/a><\/p> The migration crisis is a twisted yet perfect example of the destructive relationship between capitalism and climate change- one that is defined by the Ecological Unequal Exchange Theory. This demonstrates the systematic stripping of resource from global South to North and its consequences: a dangerous power imbalance. While powerful nations are enabled to reap the rewards of their unsustainable living, the Global South are the first to pay the price. And one of the highest costs is displacement. The loss of homes and destruction of lives.<\/p> Exploitation, fascism and capitalism are inseparably tied to global warming. We cannot expect to fight the climate crisis alone, it exists in a larger battle for equality and humanity. There are people to blame for this mess, and it\u2019s certainly not it\u2019s victims. In the same way that the elite are united in influencing harmful policy and deflecting blame, we need to unite to tackle the crisis that will inevitably affect us all. By building the resilience of communities most vulnerable to climate change and forcing those in power to be held accountable for exploitation and scapegoating, we can begin to address climate change as the root cause of displacement, not the other way round.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Footnotes:<\/p> [1]<\/a> 1Martha Henriques, BBC Earth, \u2018Climate change: The 1.5C threshold explained\u2019 (2024) https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/future\/article\/20231130-climate-crisis-the-15c-global-warming-threshold-explained<\/p> [2]<\/a> 2Kristy Siegfried, UNHCR, \u2018Climate change and displacement: the myths and the facts\u2019 (2023) https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/uk\/news\/stories\/climate-change-and-displacement-myths-and-facts<\/p> [3]<\/a> The European Parliamentary Research Service, \u2018The concept of climate refugee\u2019 (2023) https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/RegData\/etudes\/BRIE\/2021\/698753\/EPRS_BRI(2021)698753_EN.pdf<\/p> [4]<\/a> 4Joe Turner & Dan Bailey \u2018Eco bordering: casting immigration control as environmental protection, Environmental Politics\u2019 (2022) https:\/\/eprints.whiterose.ac.uk\/188060\/1\/09644016.2021.pdf<\/p> [5]<\/a> ibid<\/p> [6]<\/a> Oliver Milman, The Guardian, \u2018Climate denial is waning on the right. What\u2019s replacing it might be just as scary\u2019 (2021) https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2021\/nov\/21\/climate-denial-far-right immigration#:~:text=What's%20replacing%20it%20might%20be%20just%20as%20scary, This%20article%20is&text=Standing%20in%20front%20of,fall%20of%20the%20Roman%20empire.<\/p> [7]<\/a> Eve Ensler, The Guardian, \u2018Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden: the ultimate daddy projection screen\u2019, (2024) https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2024\/oct\/29\/trump-msg-v<\/p> [8]<\/a> 8Jonathan Watts, The Guardian, \u2018Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%\u2019, (2023) https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2023\/nov\/20\/richest-1-account-for-more-carbon-emissions-than poorest-66-report-says#:~:text=10%20months%20old ,Richest%201%25%20account%20for%20more%20carbon,than%20poorest%2066%25%2C%20report%20says& text=The%20richest%201%25%20of%20humanity,climate%20emergency%2C%20a%20report%20says.<\/p>Related<\/h1>\n
Related posts:<\/h3>
Comparison is the Thief of Joy:\u00a0How digitisation of the West is fuelling the climate crisis<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Unravelling the Fabric of Climate Change: A Socioeconomic Perspective<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a>
Societal norms, Capitalism and climate: The silent paradox no one wants to talk about<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div>
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