Global warming and climate change are increasingly pressing issues that have not always been treated with the level of importance that they demand. Climate change has been changing the face of our planet for years, and it's only getting worse.
In the wake of the recent destruction in the Caribbean by hurricane Beryl, we’re taking a look at the climate crisis, specifically how it impacts Black people around the world, and what we can do about it.
What is the climate crisis?
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are produced as a waste product of burning fossil fuels. These gases trap heat from the sun which helps to regulate the earth’s climate. This is known as the greenhouse effect. As the human population has grown over the centuries, the amount of fossil fuels that we have used has increased and so have the greenhouse gasses that have been released into the atmosphere. This has meant that more heat than ever is being trapped on earth (global warming) which is negatively affecting the earth’s climate (climate change).
In 1979, a study by the United States National Academy of Sciences concluded that the increasing amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was the main contributor to global warming (1). In that paper, the scientists estimated that doubling the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would lead to a manageable increase in global temperatures by 3 ± 1.5°C. The scientists also thought that the earth’s natural ability to absorb heat and carbon dioxide into its oceans and forests, respectively would help to balance out the temperature change.
For years, scientists and governments all over the world operated under the assumption that as long as global warming was kept below the 3 ± 1.5°C threshold, nothing would go too drastically wrong. This threshold assumption led to the 2015 Paris Agreement, an international treaty to help combat climate change. However, this threshold failed to account for increases in deforestation and other environmentally destructive processes leading to a reduction in the earth’s capacity to cope with global warming. Last year, climate scientists concluded that global temperatures are rising much faster than expected and that Earth is much more sensitive to climate change than previously understood (1).
You can find out more about the climate crisis on the United Nations Environment Programme website.
How does it affect Black people?
Climate change affects us all in more ways than we might think. In the global north, climate change has been responsible for shifts in weather patterns that have led to hotter days, melting ice caps, stronger storms, and other natural disasters. This abnormal weather has contributed to increased flooding, droughts, wildfires, and the general destruction of animal habitats. As with many other things, research suggests that minoritised communities are disproportionately affected by these extreme environmental changes (2). Inequalities in access to and quality of healthcare, food, and housing can mean that Black people can be left facing the harshest consequences of the extreme changes in weather patterns.
Those of us who live in the Global North may be on the luckier end of the spectrum. Research suggests that countries in the Global South have faced and are likely to face much more devastating effects of climate change (3). Many vulnerable populations in the Global South are being impacted by disruptions to agriculture and food production and supply due to the extreme changes in the climate (4). In some countries, the little crops that can be grown are exported to wealthier nations, leaving millions of people in the poorest communities starving and unable to support themselves.
Unfortunately, many of these countries in the Global South which are facing the brunt of the climate crisis are also the ones who contribute the least to global warming. Despite many communities in these countries dedicating their lives to trying to protect some of the world’s best natural defenses against climate change like the Congo Basin, these same people are instead, being unfairly impacted by the actions of a few. In 2022, just 20 countries were responsible for 83% of greenhouse gas emissions and many of these countries were in the global north.
What can we do about it?
Over the years you’ve probably heard a lot about steps that we can take as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint to combat climate change. This included things like limiting our use of single-use plastic by paying for plastic shopping bags, using paper straws to save the turtles, cycling or taking public transport, and recycling. These huge marketing campaigns were run around the world to encourage people to make ‘greener’ choices and make climate change feel like the social responsibility of individuals. The message from governments around the world was ‘do your part to minimise your carbon footprint and you can help to save our planet’. This message wasn’t wrong, but it did ignore a key issue. While it may be true that every little helps when fighting climate change, in reality, large corporations are the biggest contributors to climate change and our collective individual efforts are unlikely to make much of a difference if big corporations do not also make significant changes.
However, this doesn’t mean that we should stop trying to reduce our individual carbon emissions. We might not be able to offset climate change by ourselves but if we band together by doing our part and advocating for big companies to also do theirs, we might be able to make a difference. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when much of the world was at a standstill, global carbon emissions fell, and air quality improved in many parts of the world. These temporary changes in global emissions did not have a significant effect on the climate but it does suggest that change is possible!
Social justice organisations/collectives like Just Stop Oil, The Climate Coalition, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the Environmental Defense Fund have been campaigning against climate change and environmentally harmful human activities for many years using various methods, some better received than others. You can read their objectives on their websites to learn more about the grassroots fight against climate change. If you choose to join any collective action movements or protests, please be careful. You may have seen the recent news articles about climate protestors from Just Stop Oil receiving long prison sentences under new ‘conspiracy to cause a public nuisance’ laws in the UK. Before joining any public demonstrations, make sure you look up how to keep yourself safe at a protest.
In the great, slightly paraphrased words of Bob the Builder, ‘we’ve got to work together to get the job done’. If you are able, try to choose the more environmentally friendly option where you can. This can look like:
recycling your technology and waste – if you live in the UK, you can find details about your local recycling plants on your local council’s website
buying things made out of recycled materials – currently, there are a lot of things being made from recycled materials, all with handy labels that include the percentage of recycled materials used to make them. Look out for these items on your next shopping trip
walking, cycling, or using public transport where possible – using these methods of transportation might be a little less convenient than driving but
taking the train or coach instead of flying – this may take longer but can come with other benefits such as the lack of a fluid restriction, meaning no more throwing away your brand-new toiletries at the airport
using green energy sources like solar or wind power instead of fossil fuels such as coal, crude oil, or natural gas – this may be harder to implement depending on your housing situation, but if you are able, consider adding solar panels to your roof to help minimise your reliance on fossil fuels and to reduce your energy bills
eating more vegetarian or vegan meals – adding more vegetables to your diet is an easy switch that not only helps boost your health but also contributes to less emissions from the meat production industry
This list is not exhaustive, there are many other ways to help reduce your carbon footprint. If you have any top tips that help you keep your carbon footprint low, please feel free to share them with us!
Climate change is an issue that will take years to tackle. We may not even be able to manage it within our lifetime but that shouldn’t stop us from working towards making the world a better place for the generations that come after us. In the meantime, we will have to do our best to stay safe in these increasingly adverse environmental conditions. In these summer months, extreme heat can be very harmful. Try to stay hydrated, this is especially important if you are someone who takes anti-depressants as some medications may affect your ability to regulate your temperature (5). Use sunscreen (you can find out more about sunscreens suitable for darker skin tones in our previous blog post) and stay in the shade where you can.
If you are able to, please try to donate to campaigns to help support people around the world who have been affected by extreme weather and other natural disasters. If you would like to help support those most affected by hurricane Beryl, this website, set up by the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines, has bank account information and a list of priority supplies that they need. You can also donate to individual people using platforms like GoFundMe.
In conclusion, climate change is a huge global issue that affects us all. Unfortunately, it is having a much more negative impact on countries in the global south. We can all do our part to combat climate change by choosing environmentally friendly options where possible and advocating for companies, which contribute the most to climate change, to drastically reduce their carbon footprints.
By Esther Ansah, Blog Writer
References
1. Hansen JE, Sato M, Simons L, Nazarenko LS, Sangha I, Kharecha P, et al. Global warming in the pipeline. Oxford Open Climate Change. 2023 Feb 14;3(1).
2. Smith GS, Anjum E, Francis C, Deanes L, Acey C. Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, and Health Inequities: The Underlying Role of Structural Inequalities. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2022 Mar 1;9(1):80–9.
3. Sen Roy S. Climate Change in the Global South: Trends and Spatial Patterns. Springer Climate. 2018;1–25.
4. Raj S, Roodbar S, Brinkley C, Wolfe DW. Food Security and Climate Change: Differences in Impacts and Adaptation Strategies for Rural Communities in the Global South and North. Front Sustain Food Syst. 2022 Jan 6;5:691191.
5. Westaway K, Frank O, Husband A, McClure A, Shute R, Edwards S, et al. Medicines can affect thermoregulation and accentuate the risk of dehydration and heat-related illness during hot weather. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2015 Aug 1;40(4):363–7.
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