Racism of Climate Apathy

​“There is no room for tokenism in climate change decisions.”

​My first day at COP21, I heard Dr. Spencer Thomas, Ambassador and Special Envoy for Multilateral Environmental Agreements in Grenada, say these words in front of an intent audience at the U.S. Center pavilion. Dr. Thomas was part of a panel discussion titled “Natural Solutions for Coastal Resilience” and the topic of race was definitely not a main theme surrounding the conversation, but the message of that one sentence is one that stuck with me throughout the week and still lurks in the back of my mind today.

Flooding in Grenada. PC: thinkprogress.org

Dr. Thomas’s argument is extremely relevant and his home country is evidence. I spoke with Trevor Thompson from Grenada’s Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and he told me that heavier floods and longer droughts in Grenada due to climate change are threatening Grenadian infrastructure and citizen safety. Further, the sea level rise that accompanies our global temperature increase will put much, if not all, of Grenada under water, forcing citizens to decide between evacuation and drowning.

​Needless to say, Grenada is feeling the effects of climate change much more severely than we are here in the United States. But who is responsible? The world’s top carbon emitters are China, The United States, and The European Union. Grenada registers at a contribution of approximately 0% of global greenhouse gas emissions and emits 2.49 metric tons of CO2 per capita (15% of what the U.S. emits per capita).

​Grenada’s population is 95% black. The U.S. is 12% black. China and the European Union have a similarly minimal black demographic. More simply put: a black country suffers for white countries’ crimes.

Evidence for this argument extends far beyond Grenada. Developing countries across the world are being hammered by the effects of climate change. Rising temperatures have increased malaria rates in Ghana. In Ethiopia, floods of rising intensity take lives and ruin villages and homes. Climate change is a matter of survival for the island of Vanuatu as the government is already preparing for impending total submersion should sea level rise reach 70 cm. 

​Climate change has become yet another way for white people to suppress people of color. Our apathy toward finding real climate solutions? A new wave of systemic racism. 

Aftermath of a cyclone in Vanuatu. PC: Japan Times

​On my final day at COP21, I was surprised when I saw the beginnings of a Black Lives Matter protest. Though I knew the relevance of this issue in the United States, I was not expecting to hear chants of “We can’t breathe!” and “Black lives matter!” while all the way in Paris. But upon further examination, their voices couldn’t apply to the situation more.

Black Lives Matter protest at COP21 in Paris. PC: Greg Margida

“[Black Lives Matter] is larger than police shootings,” I was told by Payton Wilkins, a student at Dillard University in New Orleans. Payton pointed out how climate change works to create food deserts that impact marginalized communities the most. Sarra Tekola, a recent graduate of the University of Washington expanded on this: “Polluting industries are [most often] put in our neighborhoods…Climate change is a type of violence.” This particular issue has become more prevalent in the news recently during the Flint, Michigan water crisis.
​
Sarra and Payton traveled to COP21 with a group of students as a part of the HBCU climate consortium, lead by Dr. Robert Bullard, Dean of the Mickey Leland Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability at Texas Southern University. Dr. Bullard shared his biggest reason for taking a group to the COP year after year: People of color are overrepresented in the negative effects of climate change and underrepresented in the search for solutions.

This brings me back to the original point by Dr. Thomas regarding tokenism. Not only must we continue to search for climate solutions, but we must begin to include the communities most affected in these discussions. Yes, every party was represented at COP21, but the input from the countries in the most trouble was often written off as “unreasonable.”

The Paris Agreement was a step in the right direction, but to make the progress needed to save countries like Grenada, Vanuatu, and Ethiopia, they must be made a bigger part of the discussion.

"They tried to bury us but they didn't realize we were seeds."

Sources: The World Bank, Personal Conversations from COP21 in December 2015.