Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson’s Climate Justice is an inspiring account of how 11 climate activists from around the globe battled climate change in their unique ways, and, while doing so, found their voices.
The majority of them women, these activists found innovative solutions, many of them creating coalitions in their personal communities to fight for justice. From Alaska to Uganda to Australia, the effects of climate change can be felt far and wide. The greatest injustice of climate change that Robinson describes is that the countries who produce the least amount of carbon emissions are the ones who suffer the most from climate change.
Robinson argues that it is women who are at the frontlines of dealing with the burden of climate change, but that it is also women, often at the grassroots level, who display incredible resilience and ingenuity when helping their communities adapt to the effects of a changing world. Her emphasis on humanity and every human deserving to live their life with dignity bring a heart and soul to the pages.
The book begins with Constance Okollet, a small-scale farmer in Uganda who dealt with devastating floods in 2007 that pushed her to create the Osukuru United Women Network. In this group, she met with her neighbors to discuss issues facing their community, which eventually propelled her to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, where she first heard the term ‘climate change’. She brought this information back to her village, where she convinced the local government to pass a law authorizing the planting of five new trees for every single tree cut down.
Stories like this are mirrored across time zones, such as Sharon Hanshaw who held committee forum meetings and hurricane awareness workshops after her town in Mississippi was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, or President of Kiribati Anote Tong who catapulted his concerns onto the international stage after hearing that his island country will likely be engulfed by the sea.
Not only have these activists, some of them self proclaimed ‘accidental activists’, inspired others and spoke at conferences such as the UN Climate Summit, but they’ve had tangible results with restoring the environments they grew up in. For example, Vu Thi Hien left a teaching position to organize villagers in Vietnam through an organization called REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) which empowers indigenous communities to manage and protect nearby forests. There was a reduction in illegal harvesting of trees as a result, and villagers noted a resurgence in water and wildlife.
Though the book tackles a complex topic with nearly inexpressible effects, Robinson ensures accessibility by using clear language rather than scientific jargon to explain the changing climate. This mirrors the experiences of climate witnesses – people who have personally dealt with the devastating effects of climate change – such as Okollet and Hanshaw. Their personal stories, told simply from the heart, ended up having an incredible impact when negotiating international agreements regarding climate change.
What was truly inspiring is that developing countries are consistently leading the charge to a renewable future, such as Ethiopia pledging to invest in renewable energy by 2025, and Fiji pledging to be completely dependent on renewable energy by 2030. History has shown that international powerhouses such as the United States and China have a lot to learn, and would benefit everyone by following the lead of smaller countries such as Costa Rica, which derives almost all its energy from renewable sources.
This book is incredibly relevant now considering recent government legislation that decentralizes and even reverses legislation meant to combat climate change. Published seven years ago in 2018, each passing year since then has been extremely significant for the environment. Robinson stresses the urgency of countries unifying to reduce carbon emissions as quickly as possible throughout her book.
Despite the multitude of legislation and changing attitudes towards climate change since this book’s publication, the stories of courageous women are timeless. Climate Justice is hopeful, and provides evidence that when a lot of people do small actions together, it can make a difference.
It’s easy to feel discouraged when hearing about numbers and goals that feel unattainable. But after reading about the impacts that individual women have had and the ripple effects of grassroots activism, hope becomes easy. Positive changes are happening in communities around the world, and individual acts of courage and initiative can be models for us all as we work towards a better future for the planet.
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