Responsibility
Mitigation and adaptation to climate change is often seen as personal responsibilities, failing to account for greater structural and societal shortcomings. Pressure is put on individuals to prepare for disaster and insure that external accommodations are in place, although that is mainly out of their control. Failure to create accessible social and structural change causes the responsibility to fall on indviduals, specific organizations, and certain communities. Many feel as though it is the role of the government and international political organizations to take on this duty.
Pressure Placed on the Individual
In a world where governments and leaders are not doing enough to prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change, people are left to fend for themselves. Individuals often bear the brunt of the responsibility when it comes to preparation, mitigation, and recovery, especially as resources can be difficult to access.
When people are not able to make "environmentally friendly" switches, they are often blamed and demonized. As seen in the Eco-Ableism page, there is a severe lack of understanding and regard for needs of people with disabilities in environmental spaces, which often leads disabled people to be ostracized and excluded from these spaces.
Consequences of leaving the responsibility to fall on individuals are that people with lower access to resources and capital are more likely to suffer and not be adequately prepared to combat climate change. People with disabilities are one of those groups that face higher risks and vulnerabilities, especially part of marginalized groups through their race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality, etc.
“To be clear, our individual choices matter; we should all do what is within our abilities to live in alignment with our values. However, irresponsible corporations and government inaction are largely to blame for the climate crisis— not disabled people who need straws to drink.” - Leah Stagnone
"When we talk about the climate crisis and how to solve it there is a huge focus on individualistic impacts like recycling, doing stuff like that, and while it is important, the biggest goal we need to be reaching for is divestment." - Daphne Frias
Structural Responsibility
"Efforts to increase personal resilience have, in many cases, forced individuals to take on responsibility for what many feel should be a structural responsibility." - King, Martinez, Pachoud,
The climate crisis we are facing is not a a result of personal failure or vulnerability, but rather, the way that systems and structures are purposefully inaccessible, exclusive, and oppressive.
Formal institutions, like governments and corporations, are the biggest contributors to climate change. They also hold the most power to slow and reverse the impacts. At the same time, socially oppressive structures, like poverty, ableism, colonialism, capitalism, and racism, continue to harm people and make them more vulnerable to climate change's effects.
Governments have a moral responsibility to care for their citizens and ensure their wellbeing amidst climate change, which includes doing their part to limit their contributions to the crisis. Beyond the moral aspect, they also have a legal human rights obligation to provide framework for the safety of persons with disabilities.
People with disabilities continue to feel higher impacts of climate disasters partially due to under-prepared disaster response, in medical care, governmental realms, and evacuation centers. Response teams also hold a responsibility in adequately training and preparing their staff.
Research gaps can lead to inadequate policies, which further exclude disabled people from the protection and preparation that these policies should provide. Scientists and researchers have the responsibility to include people with disabilities in their research and climate response measures.
Some do not see climate change mitigation as a structural responsibility, but see climate change as a natural and inevitable reality. In a different light, some perceive it as a communal responsibility to create change.
Quote from "Disability Climate Justice" Interviews
"Disabled people need access to plastic straws, because those are the only ones that really work universally for people. Paper straws dissolve easily and metal straws get too hot and they can actually impale you if you're not careful. And so it’s really, like, environmentalists were pushing for the straw ban when it's only like a very, very small part of litter and they really should be focusing more on the corporate problem with their dumping and their impact on the environment rather than get rid of something that's actually helpful for people."
– Lily, respondent from Disability Climate Justice Interviews
Feeling the Effects of Climate Change
Those that contribute least to climate change often feel its effects the most, including disabled communities.
The biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (countries and industries) often do not feel the biggest effects of climate change. Communities of color, low-income areas, and countries with less industrialized economies disproportionately suffer the consequences of climate change.
Climate change is an inherently global issue, but its impacts are disproportionately felt across the world. Climate coloniality seeps into everyday life and impacts understandings of responsibility for climate change and repairing climate debts.
“The degree of vulnerability is determined by underlying natural, human, social, physical and financial factors and is a major reason why poor people—especially those in marginalised social groups like women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities—are most affected by disasters.” - CARE International, cited by Gregor Wolbring
Sources Used & Suggested Reading
In Heat Response, Include People With Disabilities - Jonas Bull 2023. An opinion article originally published in Público about the risks that people with disabilities face amidst heatwaves in Spain and actions taken (or that should be taken) in Andalusia, Spain, the European Union, and internationally.
A Stake in the Fight: An Activist’s Take on Eco-Ableism - Leah Stagnone, 2023. A blog post with reflections on being a disabled activist, while also emphasizing that disability justice and environmental justice are interconnected.
Disability, Human Rights, and Climate Justice - Penelope Stein and Michael Stein, 2022. This academic paper examines a number legal mandates that require the inclusion of PWD in climate change mitigation efforts.
Where disability and climate meet - Áine Kelly-Costello, 2023. A blog post detailing the intersection between disability and climate, including repercussions from the past, realities in the present, and hopes for the future.
Disability Justice, Climate Change, and Eco-Ableism - Columbia Climate School, 2021. An hour-long YouTube video featuring a panel of activists with a discussion centered on climate and disability justice.
'People with Disabilities are Devalued in Disasters’: Climate-Related Emergency Vulnerabilities and Structural Enforcements - Molly King, Ana Martinez, and Emily Pachoud, working paper, available on request. An academic article compiling information from 40 interviews, finding "three key findings: vulnerabilities are the result of social, environmental, and physical factors; disabled people use their extensive planning experience to prepare for emergencies; and the majority of responsibility for disaster preparedness is placed on individuals rather than institutions."
Factors Associated with the Climate Change Vulnerability and the Adaptive Capacity of People with Disability: A Systematic Review - Cadeyrn J. Gaskin, et al. 2017. A systematic review looking at factors impacting vulnerability and adaptive capacity of PWDs, including personal and environmental factors, activities, and participation.
The role of the scientific community in strengthening disability-inclusive climate resilience - Penelope Stein, et al., 2023. A two-page article calling on scientists to improve disability-specific data and research.
Unequal Proximity to Environmental Pollution: An Intersectional Analysis of People with Disabilities in Harris County, Texas – Jayajit Chakraborty, 2020. An academic analysis of proximity to 3 different types of pollution sites, finding that "individuals with disabilities are experiencing a 'multiple jeopardy' defined by the convergence of disability with other social disadvantages such as racial/ethnic minority and elderly status and amplified by their proximity to pollution sources."
The unbearable heaviness of climate coloniality - Farhana Sultana, 2023. An academic article detailing the effects of climate colonialism and what decolonizing climate means.
A Culture of Neglect: Climate Discourse and Disabled People - Gregor Wolbring, 2009. An academic paper looking at the inclusion/exclusion of disabled people in climate discourse and in environmental, economic, political and social realms.